Miraculous Feelings
by IndigoRoze
Summary: Another PB&J Fanfic, fluff mixed with angst, mostly about a cute crush Tavros denies having on the new student, Gamzee. Having to deal with problems that come with it.. But it's worth it, right? ((I never said my roleplays were original, so don't expect too much, we didn't even think we'd post it ever. Humanstuck AU, rated M for smut, drug use, and swearing. This -is- a ROLEPLAY.))
1. Just the start

**~*~ Oh my god, my first fanfiction, and it's a roleplay, that I really like, so, each P.O.V. is separated by those horizontal** **lines, so, try not to get confused.. I wish you luck, and, um, I'm not sure what to say. Please, enjoy reading. ~*~**

== Be the new kid.

Gamzee Makara stepped in his new school for the first time. It wasn't any different than his last, but it was still pretty motherfuckin' cool. He looked around the area, typical 'School-Spirit' things decorated the walls, just as any other school. Gamzee was a extremely tall, lanky boy, with dark messy hair, and green eyes. But what grabbed his peers attention, was his clown make-up. It made a few people stop and stare at him, wondering what kind of person would do that. Obviously him. Gamzee didn't care though, he just popped on his headphones, listening to what ever crap was playing on his iPod. Rap music, which he automatically started humming to, a smug smile on his face. But, someone rushed past him, making him lose his balance.  
"MOVE OUT OF THE FUCKING WAY, DUMBASS." Yelled a short, angry looking student that attempted to brush past the other, but failed and stopped, looking up at the bother. Gamzee just grinned at him when he'd slowed down, messing up his hair with his palm.  
"Sorry, did I all up and get in your motherfuckin' way?" He asked feigning worry, but nothing that wiped his stupid grin off.  
"Yes you did. I could be fucking late to class because of shitfaces like you."  
"Isn't there like... Ten minutes till class starts?"  
"Well, aren't you smart. Yes there is. Good for you." He rolled his eyes, looking at the tall 'clown.' "Maybe I wanted to get there early? Maybe so I could make up for some work? You don't know! But here you are, stopping me from getting to class!" His arms were now crossed, and if he were an old cartoon character, steam would defiantly be blowing through his ears. But, nevertheless, he wasn't, and his left eye merely twitched. They chatted for a few minutes, getting to know eachother. It turned out the smaller student was named Karkat. He was a angry boy, who had been living here for years. And once class started, it was nice to know that Gamzee shared his first period class with his new bestfriend.

* * *

== Be the awkward boy in a wheelchair  
Tavros Nitram rolled into the school, nerves coiling in his stomach.  
The summer just wasn't long enough.  
Not that he did anything in particular all summer, besides lock himself away in his room playing MMORPG's and drinking Yoo-Hoo's. Still, it was nice to be away from the scrutinizing eyes of his peers, if only for a few months.  
A new school year brought new students to gawk at the only kid in the whole school scooting around on wheels. An accident had taken away the use of his legs, rendering him paralyzed from the thighs down, but that was a while back and he was getting used to the looks and even the rare off colour jokes that came with his condition now. He sighed, running a hand nervously through his dark, curled mohawk.  
As he wheeled through the hallway toward his first period he noticed everyone's eyes weren't glued to him, for once. He maneuvered around the other students, trying to get a look at who they were staring at.  
In front of him stood a tall, thin boy, smiling lazily as Karkat Vantas yelled up at him. Tavros immediately understood what everyone was so struck by when his hazel eyes worked up to the boys face.  
'He looks like a clown..' Tavros thought to himself. Weird.  
The first period bell went off somewhere in the distance and the crowded hallway started to dissipate. Tavros started towards his first class, noticing Karkat and the strange new boy were going in the same direction.

Tav entered the classroom, trying to work his way around the other students and make it to the back of the room. He chose a desk in the corner and gripped it, pulling himself out of his chair and into the smaller seat. At least this way he wouldn't be in anyone's way, and hopefully he'd remained unnoticed.

* * *

Gamzee got a seat near the back, despite having shitty vision, he didn't like being in the front. More pressure, less miracles. He sat by his new friend, Karkat, and another girl whom had just been cackling, she'd not been introduced to the clown yet, but she seemed to be following Karkat. He laid back in his seat, his lazy grin on his face.  
"Gamzee Makara?" Called the teacher, a nice looking woman, a round, smiling face.  
"Yeh?" He inquired, snapping into reality he'd lost for a moment. "Oh, I'm motherfucking here, sorry."  
"Mr. Makara, could you please refrain from swearing in my class room?"  
"Oh, sure, I can do that. Or, try, I slip a lot." He straightened his back a bit, giving more of a serious expression to his teacher, but no one could take him seriously with his make up. Karkat especially, who presented Gamzee with a firm hit on the arm for such an idiotic face. Which earned giggles from a few nearby girls, and a particular cackle from the one next to him. The rest of that class went rather nicely, but Karkat had pointed out several girls that had spent the period discussing the clown.(And laughing at the angry teenagers actions) Gamzee explained how he's used to it that he'd, been wearing it for years, so it was only natural that many people looked at him like that for it.

The next period was dull and boring. It was math, or something along those lines, Gamzee wasn't paying too much attention, not at the start, not at the end. Though he took note on how the teacher was a gruff looking male, but of a short height. "Gamze- Dear lord, whadd'ya do that to your face for?"  
"Um, just what I feel, like... Comfortable and shit in..." Gamzee replied to the teacher. "Motherfucking miraculous, even~" His voice trailed, a lazy smirk. This once didn't seem to mind swearing as much. That class actually turned out to be okay... Dull, but okay.

Two more periods past, and then lunch. 3rd and 4th period he shared with Karkat, but also with Karkats' girlfriend, who had now been introduced as Terezi, and no further than that. A look from two passer byers, one whom chuckled sweetly, and another who kept a blank look, but smirked and spoke again to her friend. Gamzee didn't mind though. He just waved at the students who wouldn't stop staring, as if he believed they didn't do it because his make up was odd. There was a boy in a wheel chair he seemed to share his classes with except 3rd. He had turned around, giving him a small wave, and a smile. Motherfuckers like that usually were kind of bullied, so.. A smile can help anyones day. When lunch finally approached, and that was fucking awesome.

* * *

It had been a somewhat eventful first day, but Tavros wouldn't really write it off as bad. Thanks to the new kid (his name was Gamzee, right? That's kind of unusual, but there were some weirder things about him than that.) he had spent the school day out of the spotlight. The other boys sailor mouth and face paint was enough to distract everyone from the boy in the wheelchair.  
For the first two periods, at least.  
The first thing Tavros noticed as he entered his third period class was that Gamzee was nowhere to be found. Oh well, maybe it would go smoothly regardless. Tav wheeled his way to the back of the class, sitting in the last available empty seat. He wondered why no one had claimed it yet, until he turned and saw the girl beside him.  
Vriska Serket. Joy.  
"Well well well, long time no see Hot Wheels. And how did your summer go? Wait, let me guess. You joined a demolition derby and were surprised to find that it made an improvement on that rust heap you roll around in. Am I right?"  
Tavros rolled his eyes. Vriska had been making fun of him since Middle School. He had gotten pretty used to her crass jokes by now, but that didn't make him any less afraid of her. She was...what's a nice way to say batshit insane? Unstable? Yeah, she was unstable.  
"It's nice to see you too Vriska." He mumbled and felt his face flush slightly at the wide smile she gave him.  
Once upon a time, long before he'd actually come in contact with the incomparable Ms. Serket , he used to admire her from afar. She was really pretty. Long dark hair, icy blue eyes and full, pouted lips that remained plump, even when she smiled. That sh quickly when Tavros actually got the courage to talk to her though. Sank like the Titanic. Except there weren't any brave musicians playing softly into the freezing water. There was only Vriska's cold eyes and teasing smirk. All it took was a joke about how far below the belt Tavros's paralysis went and the boy had immediately given up on her.

He managed to make it through that period relatively unscratched but was relieved to find Gamzee back in his fourth period. Tavros could sink into his corner and stop existing again. When the new boy turned to smile and wave at him, it caught Tav completely off guard and he simply stared, dumbfounded and not really sure how to react.  
The lunch bell finally rang out, and Tavros let a weak smile work it's way onto his lips. He hopped out of the desk and into his chair, rolling out into the hallway and making for the lunchroom and a break from being surrounded by people. He had almost reached the door when his wheels stopped turning, something hindering him from behind. When the veil of black hair fell around his face from above, Tavros inwardly groaned.  
"Hi there, Wheels." Vriska cooed from above him. She held the handles on his chair tightly, refusing to let the boy go any further. How was she this strong anyway?  
"Got something to show you. They've added a second stairway to get to the first floor of the building." She talked as she pushed Tav along the halls and further from the lunchroom. Some of the students passing them chuckled, they thought it was hilarious the way Vriska teased him. Tavros knew better. She was psychopathic.  
When they arrived at the new stairwell, Vriska pushed Tav's chair right up to the edge of the first step, leaning back over to put her lips next to his ear.  
"Unfortunately, they haven't put your ramp in yet sweetheart. Don't worry though Tavros, I'll help you." Her tone was sickeningly sweet, as if she were really doing a charity for the poor boy. Tavros felt his heart beating against his ribs and his pulse sped up. She wasn't serious.  
"You'd roll down the stairs like a ragdoll. Wouldn't that be hilarious? It's not like you could break anything else." She mused, leaning the wheelchair forward slightly. Tavros felt his breath hitch in his throat. Oh god.


	2. Tongue City

**~*~ Just like to say, I had to edit this from second person to third, so sorry if it seems a little odd reading? Or if it says 'you' rather 'he', I only have two editors. And they're just really nice friends. ~*~**

Gamzee had gotten better acquainted with Karkats girlfriend. Terezi Pyrope. She was legally blind, and was obsessed with the smell of things. Even with her being blind, she still went to a normal school, not giving two shits. She was pretty chill.  
"You know, you smell like grape jelly..." She mused, happily, hand in hand with her short boyfriend, Karkles. "Great scent for me to start my lunch with! And Karkat smells like cherry-candy." Terezi finished. Currently, they were on there way to lunch, pushing past all kinds of students, who were all giggling at something. Gamzee brought his attention to what they were chuckling over. "Hey, what's motherfucking going on over there?" He asked, leaning back, trying to see past the students.  
Karkat snorted, a rude smirk on his face. "That's fucking Tavros, and Vriska. She is a bitch, he's a loser. Just stay out of it."  
"Peanut butter!" Terezi grinned, pointing her cane towards the boy in a wheel chair, who was about to be shoved down some stairs. She instantly smacked a boy in the back of the head, who groaned and left. "And blue berries... Ick... Not a good mix." She lifted her nose up, her face twisting slightly. She was a crumbled cookie. Gamzee though, ignored Karkats warning, and scooted past all the other students, reaching the pretty girl, and the boy in a wheel chair. He tapped Vriska on the shoulder at first, getting her attention, but then, he grabbed and dragged her by her collar, away from Tavros.  
"What are you doing, sister? Messing with this motherfucker? Come on, he's in a wheel chair." He cocked his hips, raising an eyebrow, and one hand on the boys wheel chair handle. "Seriously?" Though, before anything really started, a girl who was in Gamzee's 3rd period class came up. Kanaya Maryam. She was a very nice looking girl, light blonde hair complete with green eyes, darker than Gamzees. She seemed a bit violent though.. Just her voice, it was gut feeling. But Kanaya had spent that period reading a book called 'Twilight'. So that said something about her, like she was... Soft maybe? Too complicated.  
"Vriska, we will be late for lunch, please come.." She said, almost lacking emotion. But before Vriska answered, Kanaya had dragged her off, simple and clean.

Gamzee turned around, looking at a frightened young motherfucker. "Hey, bro, sorry you have to motherfucking deal with her. She has to learn that everyone has their miracles." He sighed, bending down, and looking at him. "The names Gamzee Makara. Nice to meet you, Tavros, right?" He grinned, but then stood up, Karkat was yelling for his attention.  
"Come on, fuckass! You can talk to the cripple later!"  
"Get your chill in your head, brother!" He called back, he ruffled up Tavros's mohawk. "Catch ya' later, Tavbro." And at that, Gamzee left.

* * *

Tavros blinked once.  
Twice.  
Again, just for good measure.

He felt his heart slow down a little, and brought his hand up to his chest just to be sure it was still beating. He'd been saved...by...Gamzee Makara?

The whole thing seemed a blur, and Tavros felt his face finally relax, little by little, from panic to relief. His body was still shaking slightly, but he had managed to calm his hands down enough to grab hold of his wheels and make his way toward the lunchroom.

He ignored the hate-filled look Vriska shot him from beside Kanaya (the blonde girl merely smiled at Tavros politely, like her friend hadn't just tried to murder him.) and made his way to the lunch line. He worked his way through, finally exiting with his tray and scanned the cafeteria for an empty table.

No luck.

He noticed Karkat, Terezi and Gamzee occupying one off to the right with one space left, and he worked up his nerves to wheel towards them. He hesitantly set his tray down beside Gamzee, grinning shyly at the other boy.

"I, uh, I wanted to say...thank you. For...I m-mean, uh, if you hadn't...I'd probably be..." Tavros stopped himself, closing his eyes and trying to get the words in his head to come out the way they were supposed to. Terezi giggled and Karkat just glared at him.  
"Anyway. Uh, thank you. Do you-Do you mind if I sit here?"

* * *

"So, what is with the clown make up anyways?" Karkat had asked, as Gamzee brought his tray over.  
"Um, motherfucking amazingness, I guess."  
"I fucking doubt that. Don't lie."  
" 'Aight. It's part of my religion." What did it matter why he wore it anyways? He wore it for no reason in particular. He wore it because he had a tattoo. He wore it because the touch was cool on his face. None or all of these could be true, what did it matter? Might as well play around.  
"What religion?" Terezi inquired before Karkat, biting into God knows what. The food they served didn't look too edible. Before Gamzee could speak up, and explain that it was a lie as well, Tavros had come up, thanking him. Karkat was being awfully rude, trying to hint with emotion 'Fuck off'.. But it didn't work. Gamzee kindly listened, giving the smaller student a few smiles.  
"Bro, it's my motherfucking pleasure. Always there to help a miracle out."  
"Oh? So now he's your goddamn miracle?" Karkat piped in.  
"Everyone and everythings a motherfucking miracle, bestfriend." Gamzee replied, and motioned his wrist- signaling that Tavros could sit with them. It'd be awesome.

Small talk came easy between them all, as it turned out that they were all familiar with eachother, so the conversation mostly resolved around Gamzee.  
"You swear a lot." Terezi had pointed out. "It grabs a lot of peoples attention."  
"Motherfucking goddamn bitchtits. I don't all up and mind." He shrugged, he had personally went for a soup or something, it was a little hard to tell. He required something that wouldn't mess up his make-up too much though. Finally though, lunch ended, much to the groups dismay.

"Fair enough." Another quirk Terezi had, she seemed to like the law, or better yet, to enforce it.

And it turned out Gamzee was alone his next class. It was alright though, making friends wasn't hard. In fact, a small girl wearing a pigtails had come up. "Hi! I see you made furiends with Tavros?" She grinned, behind her was a taller male, long black hair and cracked sunglasses. He was kind of silly.  
"Yup. He is a pretty neat motherfucker."  
"Yes! He is! I think he's a purrfect friend~" She looked a bit sad though once her grin faded. She was used to hanging out with the wheel-chaired boy at lunch.. Nevertheless, she could share friends! "My name is Nepeta! And this is Equius." She pointed behind her.  
"Motherfucking awesome." they talked for the rest of that period. Well, Nepeta and Gamzee did. Equius was extremely quiet.

Next period was gym. He seemed to have that with everyone he knew so far. Karkat, Terezi, Nepeta, Equius, Kanaya, Vriska, and even Tavros. Although he had hoped he didn't share anything with Vriska, he would put up. That period went rather smoothly, Gamzee was a little too uncoordinated to really show off or anything like that, so, he just stuck to his motherfucking bestfriend. He didn't speak to Tavros a lot, maybe exchanged a hi/hello, and smiled at eachother, but Vriska was leaving him alone, so, there was no need to run in. Finally, the end of school reached. 7th period Gamzee forgot to check who was in it. In fact, he had forgotten what class it was. It was relaxing though, the teacher seemed to start right away on what she was teaching. S'all miracles. Finally, he felt a tapping on his shoulder, as Nepeta handed him a note. He opened, not really giving a shit if the teacher saw.  
:33 hey! silly question, but what's your "sexual orientation" or like, do you prefur girls or boys? it's for my pairings. i love pairing people up! and I'd looooooooove to do you!  
Well that was an awkward question.  
He looked back for a second, cocking an eyebrow, before writing back.  
pAnsExUaL. I rEaLlY dOn'T gIvE a ShIT wHaT GeNdEr SoMeOnE iS. I gUesS I pReFeR MoThErFuCkInG BoYs ThOuGh. hoNk. :o) He slipped it back.  
No reply.  
It was all good though, once class was over, Gamzee stopped by his locker, slinging out a backpack over his shoulder, the only thing he had in it he needed today was his pills, and those would fit easily in his hoodie. Oh no, no... Gamzee had to bring his back pack. He had accidentally brought his marijuana to school. Now, he wasn't the biggest stoner, but whenever he lacked his pills, it helped.  
Pills? Well, Gamzee had a few quirks in his mind, when he didn't take his pills, he'd basically get... Angry,  
But what a thing to talk about right now, maybe later..  
When he got to the bus stop, it was crowded, but he spotted everyone out right away.  
"Hey fuckass," Karkat started, looking up at him. "How come your make-up didn't smudge off during gym?" He looked a little confused, but still angry.  
"Dunno', bestfriend." Is all he said, before walking home. Well, he did wave good bye to Karkat, whom was now being hugged by Terezi.

* * *

Tavros pulled his backpack out of his locker with a sigh. He was so happy this day was done, now he could go home and relax. As far as first days usually went, it wasn't bad. Minus the life threatening moment with Vriska, this day had actually turned out okay. He smiled, thinking back to lunch and how nice it had been talking with Gamzee and everyone else. He'd have to apologize for leaving Nep hanging, but she would probably understand.

"Taaaaaavros!" his name was sung out from across the hall and he turned towards the sing-song voice just in time to have his friend collide with his chair in an awkward, full bodied hug.

"Oh, uh, h-hi Nepeta." he muttered, blushing as she nuzzled their cheeks together. He had met Nepeta in his freshman year, they both liked to roleplay and Nepeta was really good at it. Besides that, Nepeta didn't seem to mind that Tavros spent most of his time in a wheelchair.

"Gueesss who I talked to during last period?" She was smiling down at Tavros now, excitement in her eyes.

"Uhh...I'm not sure..." Tavros muttered, a hand coming up to run nervously through his curled mohawk. He always played with his hair when he felt shy, it was a habit

"The new boy! Gamzee! He's soooo coooool and so nice and-" She paused for dramatic effect, eyeing Tavros before continuing, in a quieter tone, "-he totally likes boys 3"

Tavros just stared at her, completely dumbfounded. Nepeta had this..."thing". And by "thing", Tavros meant this binder in her locker filled with fanart and fanfiction about her friends. She called it her shipping wall. Everyone else just called it creepy.

"Nep...tell me you didn't..." Tav started, but Nepeta merely shrugged.

"How could I not!? He's really cute, AND, I saw you two at lunch together. You guys had _sparks_." The last word was whispered as Nepeta's eyelids fluttered closed slightly. She was giving Tavros her best pervy smile, but the boy just stared back blankly, his mouth slightly agape.

"You're...wait. You're shipping him with /me/?!" Tavros felt his face light up, his cheeks going crimson. Nepeta had never shipped anyone with him, he assumed they had an understanding that he was out of bounds.

"You guys would be so purrfect together! I can totally see it, you're an outcast because of your handicap, he's an outcast because of his weird...makeup thing. One day, you guys are alone together, talking about how it feels to be left out and then BAM!" Her arms flew up over her head and the volume of her voice made you shrink back a bit. "Next thing you know it's tongue-city! Population: Gamzee and Tavro-"

"Nep! Stop! Oh-Oh my god!" Tavros's face heated up and the blush had moved over his entire body, all the way up to his ears. "I've-Oh god, I've, uh, gotta go Nep!" He spit, before slamming the locker closed and moving your wheels toward the exit as fast as they can carry you.

"Just so you know-" she calls after him, "I've already started a fic AND came up with your ship name. It's Peanut Butter and Jelly! Because of your skin and his dark makeup! Cute, huh?"

The latino boy didn't reply. He just rushed out of the building and started rolling home, trying to get the image out of his head of what exactly "tongue-city" with Gamzee might look like.


	3. Cute One Eyed Snakes

**~*~ I'm not renaming Gamzee's brother Kurloz. I'll add that guy later. Maybe. So don't start complaining about it, we wrote this before he came out canon-ly or whatever. I mean, I could rename him, but he'd be REALLY OOC, so... Yeah, anyways, I want to apologize for our characters being OOC. Also. ~*~**

* * *

Gamzee reached his and his brothers apartment. Even as a highschool student, he only had his elder brother. Garrett, 27 years young, was a really chill guy, although, he shared a messed mental state like Gamzee, though not as bad, he did require to take medicine once in awhile.. Usually he snuck Gamzee's marijuana though. "It calms me down better, I need a fucking larger dose than these pills!" He would say. And that pissed Gamzee off. Other then that, he payed for the apartment, and worked at some tattoo place he owned. (The main reason they moved was so he could open his own shop.) He was a cool motherfucker.  
"Bro, you motherfucking here?" Gamzee called as he unlocked the door, stepping in.  
"Yeah- Off to work though. Got an appointment with a girl who I think is getting her lower stuff pierced." Despite his brothers tough look, and addiction, he was a pretty intelligent person, and wanted to go to collage, but they simply lacked the money, and he was more concentrated on getting GAMZEE there.  
"Send pics to my phone." The younger brother laughed a bit, playfully hitting his brother. "But seriously, I'ma buy a motherfucking pizza. That okay?"  
"We have goddamn left overs you can eat, Gamzee."  
"Well shit. I'll have that then." Was the last thing he said to his brother, before Garrett left, leaving Gamzee alone. This made him happy. Gamzee quickly kicked off his pants, revealing his purple boxers, and went and raided the fridge. It was Hawaiian pizza. Fuck. The only reason he probably had that was one of his parties or something. For some reason girls liked that kind, and impressing girls was the point of even inviting people over. He got it anyways, and then sat on the couch, grabbing his laptop.

Oh! That's right! His best friend had given Gamzee his Username for pesterchum. It was on a small piece of paper in the teenagers hoodie pocket. He quickly typed it in, and a few minutes later, the contact request was accepted.  
carnicoGenecist started pestering terminallyCapricous  
CG: OH. LOOKS LIKE YOU DIDN'T LOSE MY CHUMHANDLE.  
CG: I CAN HONESTLY ADMIT I'M AMAZED.  
TC: NaH, sTiLl HaVe It! :oD  
TC: HoNk  
CG: SO YOU WANT ME TO GIVE YOU SOME OTHER PEOPLES I GUESS?  
TC: ThAt'D Be SwEeT, BeStFrIeNd.  
CG: STOP CALLING ME THAT, WORSTFRIEND.  
He typed in the other chumhandles he was given. Some from ten other students. Tavros being one of them, Gamzee added him last. He also got all the other students he'd met today, and then some, like, Aradia, Sollux, Feferi, and Eridan. He didn't message them, but they all accepted you. Gamzee looked and saw Tavros had instantly accepted him. He smiled, and messaged him.  
terminallyCapricous started pestering adiosToreador  
TC: hEy tAvBrO!  
TC: SoRrY I dIdN'T sAy ByE To YoU.  
TC: So aNYwAyS, HoW wAs ThE eNd Of YoUr DaY?  
He smiled, and pestered a few others.

* * *

As soon as Tavros get home, he threw yourself into his big, comfy beanbag chair and pulled his laptop off his bedside table. He sighed in relief, logging into Pesterchum, mostly to see if Nepeta is on so that maybe he could apologize for running off. Instead, he found a request from Gamzee.

Tavros nearly fell off his beanbag.

The young hazel-eyed boy accepted immediately, without even thinking. Right after he saw his chumhandle added to his contacts though, Tavros inwardly groaned, thinking about everything Nep had said earlier. But that's fine. It's not like he has to see his face when he talks to him, right? Tavros can talk to Gamzee through the computer and just...avoid him like the plague at school. The plague that makes his mind wander to places you'd...really rather not think about right now.

A message from Gamzee pops up and asks how the boys day ended.

"Oh good, Nepeta put the image of the two of us making out in my head and now it's kind of stuck there. Did I mention I thought about your eyes all the way home? Yeah, there's that. How did yours go?"

Fuck. Tavros cursed inwardly and biting his bottom lip, pulling the laptop more into his lap as he typed an actual response.

AT: oH, uH, hEY gAMZEE.  
AT: wOW THAT WAS FAST,,,i GUESS kARKAT GAVE YOU MY CHUMHANDLE, hUH?  
AT: gOOD. tALKED TO MY FRIEND nEPETA. i THINK YOU, uH, mET HER.

Tavros had hit send and waited for his response.

* * *

TC: YeAh! MoThErFucKiNg SoRrY If ThAT'S wEiRd.  
TC: gOt SoMe OtHeR peOpLes ToO.  
TC: AnD yEah. ShE's CuTe, 'LiL wEiRd ThOuGh. AsKiN' My SeXuAlItY aNd ShIt.

AT: oH, uH, yEAH,,,sHE DOES THAT TO EVERYONE,,,  
AT: i THINK IT'S HER WAY OF, uH, tRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT YOU?

Tavros couldn't believe she actually /asked/ him. Oh god, he wish he could be half as bold as Nep is. He doesn't seem too phased by it though, at least.

* * *

TC: hUh. InTeReStInG. GuEsS SHe AiN't MoThErFucKiNg HuRtiNg AnYoNe ThOuGh.  
TC: So Is ShE wItH tHat EqUiUs GuY, Or WhAt? I NoTiCeD hE's LikE alWAyS waTchIn' OvEr HeR.

AT: uH, tHEY'RE KIND OF A PACKAGE DEAL.  
AT: eQUIUS' MOM MARRIED nEPETA'S DAD WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER,,,hE'S ALWAYS BEEN AROUND HER FOR AS LONG AS I'VE KNOWN HER.  
AT: hE'S A LITTLE CREEPY SOMETIMES, bUT, uH, uLTIMATELY A NICE GUY. hE'S JUST A LITTLE,,,,oVERPROTECTIVE, i THINK.

TC: S'AlRiGhT.  
TC: gOtTa HaVe SOmE MiRaClE tHeRe FoR YoU.

Gamzee sighed a bit, smiling. Although his brother sort of counted.. It wasn't really all that motherfucking miraculous, it was okay, he just wished Garrett would stop being such a jerk, stealing from him. Other than that, he had his new friends, but..

TC: anYwAyS, WhAt'S a bRo Up tO?  
TC: hOnK ;o)

AT: yEAH, iT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HAVE,,,sOMEONE AROUND.

Tavros looked around his room and suddenly felt very alone. His parents were always busy, coming and going, and he didn't have any siblings. Everything in the house was always so...quiet. Gamzee's next message snapped him out of his thoughts.

AT: oH, uH, mE AND NEPETA ARE ROLEPLAYING. oR, tRYING TO,,,sHE CAN'T DECIDE WHO SHE WANTS TO BE.

Immediately after the words lit up his screen, he regretted sending them. Oh good, now Gamzee can think the boy is a nerd. Which is, coincidentally, exactly what he had wanted. Not. A sigh, wishing there was a way to retrieve an already sent message.

* * *

TC: SoUnDs PrEtTy NeAt.  
TC: RoLePlAYiNg Is SOmEtHiN' aN eX Of MiNe DiD a LoT.  
TC: I kEpT gEtTInG "OoC" oR sOmE sHiT.  
TC: S'AlRigHt ThOuGh, PerSoNaLlY I'm JuST ChIlLing, mY bRo JusT leFt.  
Gamzee had a few partners in the past, but no one really of importance. Well, he didn't go around dating every boy/girl he met, but he wasn't too picky. He's had maybe.. 2 girlfriends and a boyfriend? None of were that serious though. Gamzee thought back on it.. He really regretted some of the things he did with them, and then some.

* * *

Tavros blinked at the screen before relief pooled in his stomach. Gamzee didn't think he was a nerd. Tav smiled.

AT: hAHA, yEAH, nEP IS ALWAYS YELLING AT ME FOR BEING A LITTLE OOC TOO.  
AT: oH, tHAT'S COOL,,,  
AT: i'VE, uH, nEVER HAD AN,,,eX  
AT: i'M AN ONLY CHILD TOO,,,iT MUST BE NICE HAVING A BROTHER.

As Tavros typed he was mentally taking notes on everything Gamzee. Since Nepeta had put the idea in his head of the two of them together, Tavros was having a hard time shaking it loose. Seventeen years is a long time to go without at least a crush on someone, (Putting Vriska aside...) and Tavros felt like maybe it was about time he started thinking about that a little more. Even if he was pretty certain he'd never tell Gamzee about it. In a million years. EVER.

* * *

TC: DoN'T woRrY AbOuT eXeS, mY MoThErFuCkInG bRo.  
TC: PlUs. I'vE neVeR ReALlY bEEn InTO tHem  
TC: HarDlY cALl 'Em ExEs. MaYbE...  
TC: NeVErMiNd ThAt.

Gamzee froze. He really didn't want to get into how he mostly used them for sex, I mean, he sort of liked them, but.. A guys gonna do shit. He sighed, changing the topic.

TC: YeAh. BuT hE's AlL I gOt.  
TC: AnD He'S KiNd Of A BiTcH. XoD  
TC: AlWaYs StEalInG My PiLls AnD ShIT.  
TC: NoT mOtHeRfUckInG CoOl. HoNk.

* * *

Tavros noted the _neat_way Gamzee side-stepped the topic of exes, but decided not to push it any further. If he didn't want to talk about it, who was Tavros to pry?

AT: tHAT'S TOO BAD }xD  
AT: oH, uH, aRE YOU SICK?

Tavros eyebrows knitted together and concern swept over his face. The way Gamzee said pills didn't make it seem like they were simple allergy medications. Especially if they were something worth stealing. He hoped it wasn't serious.

* * *

TC: s'AlRigHt. My BrO iS aBlE tO kEeP tHis aPArTMeNt. So iT's BiTchTiTs.

Gamzee replied, but then Tavros asked about his pills... He had it coming. He tried to think of a basic definition of what was wrong with him. It was kind of confusing really, and he didn't like sharing it.

TC: uHhH...  
TC: ...  
TC: :o|  
TC: I'lL tElL YoU lAtEr. It'S kInD oF MoThErFucKiNg cOmPlIcaTed.  
TC: I'lL bE rIghT bAck, I'M goNnA GrAb anOThEr PIecE Of PIzZa aNd soME fAyGO.

He sighed a bit, he didn't want to tell him. I mean, Tavros was pretty cool and all, but they'd just met.. It wasn't something up for current discussion... He stood up, fetching another slice, and some faygo, feeling a bit guilty for ignoring Tavros's question.

* * *

Obviously Tavros had crossed some kind of boundry. It didn't even occur to him that whatever Gamzee had to take medicine for was probably private. He slapped a hand to his forehead, mentally reminding himself to re-read every post before he sent it.

AT: i'M SORRY,,,  
AT: i WASN'T TRYING TO BE NOSY, i WAS JUST,,,,,  
AT: ,,,,,,,,,,wORRIED, i GUESS,,  
AT: uH, wAIT, nO,,,,tHAT'S WEIRD. wE JUST MET,,,  
AT: tHAT PROBABLY SOUNDED CREEPY,,,,  
AT: i JUST,,,wANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU WERE,,,,OKAY?  
AT: aNYWAY,,,,i'M, uH, gOING TO GO FIND SOME FOOD TOO,,,  
AT: sO,,,,bRB,,,

Shit shit shit shit. Tavros tried to stop his fingers from typing but they just wouldn't quit. Each explanation he gave just made him seem weirder and when he was finally done with his text-vomit, he half expected Gamzee to log off and block him.

* * *

Gamzee came back, seeing he had quite a few messages from Tavros. He couldn't help but smile at the messages. Guys like him were cute, how they always cared.. He liked how shy he was. Gamzee typed back with his left hand as he took a bite out off the pizza.

TC: nAh, TavBrO.  
TC: S'AlRiGhT. :o)  
TC: aNd DOn'T wOrrY ABoUt beiNG 'CReEpY'... yOu'Re FiNeEeEeE.  
TC: YeAh.. I mEAn... I dUnNo. ThAnKs FoR wOrRyIng ThOuGh.  
TC: mY oWn mOtHeRfUcKiNg BrO FoRgEtS tO dO tHaT soMtImeS. :oP

Fuck. Why was he spilling his feelings out? That wasn't needed. And he didn't really MEAN to diss his older brother, it's just.. Sometimes he wasn't a full on miracle. Tavros on the other hand.. He seemed like a motherfucker that one could share their feels with. Gamzee was a pretty open guy, it's just his pills and make-up he doesn't like talking about that much, what was the point? People just judged the harshest on that.

* * *

Tavros smiled a little, his face was still a brilliant shade of red, but other than that he was relieved. His social anxiety made it hard enough to talk to people without adding...attraction? God it felt weird to even think that. He felt sort of wrong, fauning over a guy after only a day of knowing him, but Gamzee seemed so relaxed and happy and just...so unlike everyone else. At the very least, Gamzee could turn into a very good friend.

AT: tHANKS,,,i JUST GET SORT OF, uH, oVERWHELMED SOMETIMES,,,,  
AT: i'M NOT THE BEST AT THIS,,,,tALKING TO PEOPLE, tHAT IS,,,  
AT: i KNOW HOW YOU FEEL THOUGH, mY PARENTS ARE NEVER AROUND, aND EVEN WHEN THEY ARE IT'S LIKE, uH, tHEY'RE TOO BUSY,,,oR SOMETHING,,,  
AT: iT'S REALLY NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK TO }:)

* * *

TC: aWw, TaVbRo... WeLl...  
TC: aNyTImE yOu FeEL aLoNe,  
TC: oR sOmE sHIt  
TC: jUsT mOtHeRFucKiNg TAlK tO mE.  
TC: kAy? hOnK :o)

So far, the young man was feeling automatically close to the wheel-chaired boy. He was the sweetest thing, and could become one of his best _bros. _  
Gamzee wanted to suggest hanging out this weekend, but he'd rather do that in person, or maybe on Friday. I mean, he only had 5 or 6 periods with him...  
A smile came on his face, as he replied to the other people.

* * *

Tavros felt his face flush a little and moved his hands to the keyboard to type out a reply, but was distracted when Nepeta messaged him.

:33 *ac climbs up into Tavros' lap, stretching out a little before poking him on the nose* Where did you go? *she questions in her impawsably cute voice*  
AT: oH, uH, sORRY NEP,,I WAS,,,wAIT, i MEAN, *tAVROS PETS HER HEAD, aC'S THAT IS, aND, uH, sMILES* i WAS TALKING TO GAMZEE,,,i GUESS I GOT DISTRACTED.  
:33 *ac grins, giving Tavros a knowing look* Ohhh I s33 3  
AT: nOT LIKE THAT NEP,,,i, uH, mEAN,,,*tAVROS SHAKES HIS HEAD ANGRILY*  
:33*ac ignores his protests, giggling as she watches her ship sail off into the distance*  
AT: nO SHIP IS SAILING!,,,uH, *tAVROS YELLS,,,oR SOMETHING*

Tavros minimizes Nepeta's conversation and rolls his eyes. Once he reads back over Gamzee's post though, his smile returns.

AT: kAY, uH, tHANK YOU.  
AT: tHAT'S REALLY NICE OF YOU.

Tavros took a moment to lean back into his beanbag chair and let the smile settle on his face. Later, he would remind himself that his crushes never really went anywhere and that this entire thing started as a weird fantasy Nepeta had dreamed up...but for now, he held on to the happy feeling buzzing in his brain.

* * *

Gamzee smiled, finishing his pizza. He'd probably get another piece soon. Gamzee was the type to eat a ton, but never gain an extra pound, despite his brother telling him it's only temporary. So what? Enjoy it well it lasts.

TC: aNyTiMe My MoThErFuCkEr. :o)

He felt his phone vibrate next to him on the couch. Who was texting him? Gamzee pulled his phone to where he could read it.

?: You there, Gamzee?  
It was Garrett. His perfect typing skills, as compared to Gamzees nonsense.  
TC: hOnK.  
?: Don't you have some type of typing class at school? You type like a fucking idiot.  
TC: i can type like this.  
?: Do it for the sake of conversating with me.  
TC: whatever. honk. ;o)  
?: Anyways, I got the picture you wanted.  
TC: DuDe I wAs MoTheRfUCkInG JoKiNg.  
?: *Picture sent*

Gamzee curiously opened the picture message, and felt his cheeks darken. It was the piercings he said he'd be doing, on a very pale looking female. He giggled slightly, messaging Tavros.

TC: hEy TaVbRo, My BrO sEnT Me A PiC Of SoMe SIcK PiErCinGs He dID, WaNa sEe?

* * *

Tavros stared at the screen for a moment, then shrugged. He didn't get what the big deal with seeing ear piercings was, but if Gamzee thought it was cool then it probably was.

AT: sURE, uH, i GUESS,,,

When Gamzee sent the picture through Tavros opened it and stared a moment before his face lit up and he jumped back a little in his chair.

"O-Oh my god!" He gasped, clamping his hands over his mouth and staring transfixed at the screen. It's like his eyes were glued there, and he dug his teeth into his bottom lip as he ran a hand worriedly through his mohawk.  
How was he supposed to reply to that? Had Gamzee sent him the wrong picture!? No, this girl definitely had piercings...Tavros set the laptop down on the floor and tried to compose himself.  
"O-Oh man..." He took a deep breath and picked it back up, wondering how someone like Gamzee would respond to seeing something like that.

AT: tHAT'S, uH, cOOL,,,yOUR BROTHER DID AN AWESOME JOB,,

Fuck. That probably didn't sound cool at all.

* * *

Gamzee felt a bit bad for sending that, recalling how shy and timid Tavros was, but he couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a blushing Tavros, freaking out over a picture of a pale girl with her genitals pierced.  
TC: HaHaH TeLl mE aBoUt It BrO!  
TC: hE Is MOtHeRfUckiNg BiTcHtIts aT tHiS ShiT!  
TC: He doEs TaTs ToO. I'lL HavE tO sHoW yOu SoMeTiMe.

He grinned, typing away at his laptop. That was one really cool thing about his bro, is he was so artistic. Sure, he wanted to be a lawyer or something, but he was just so good at what he did, it would be a shame to see him give up on it. Gamzee on the other hand, had given little consideration over what he wanted to be. Despite his lazy attitude, he had a lot of ideas.. But his brother kept trying to force him to choose one, and he couldn't do it.

Gamzee looked through his contacts for someone else to message. Despite messaging mostly everyone on his list, he only got a response from a few.

terminallyCapricorn [TC] started pestering aresenicCatnip [AC]

TC: hEy LiTTlE cAt GitL. :o)

Why not message someone he knew already? But it seemed like someone else also messaged him.

* * *

Eridan sighed, Feferi had gotten pissed off and blocked him, YET AGAIN. Some friend she was. He shrugged, adjusting his glasses before he noticed he had a contact request. He glanced over the name, racking his brain to find out if it had any sort of importance or if he was supposed to remember it.  
Fuck it.

CA: listen pardon me if I come off as rude or anythin  
CA: but wwho the fuck are you an wwhy should i evven care?

He grimaced at the screen. Fef had put him in a bad mood and he really didn't feel like putting on any kind of niceities, especially for someone he was fairly sure he didn't know.

* * *

Gamzee sat at his laptop, a little confused on how to respond. He wasn't totally sure how, he'd just added a bunch of people. But his slight jaw-drop, quickly turned in to a large grin, once again.

TC: nAh bRo.  
TC: i'M gAmZeE MaKarA.  
TC: tHe GuY wItH tHe MOthErFucKiNg MaKeUp, I gUesS.  
TC: wHo Is ThIs? hOnk :o)

Since Gamzee wore such thick, odd make-up, he was going to have to try his best not to come off that much different. He didn't really like caring what people thought, but some people could be pretty rude, and judge him on that only.

* * *

Tavros tried to calm himself down when he heard the sound of Gamzee replying. Oh god, he hoped the pictures of tattoo's were a little less...revealing.

AT: wOW THAT'S, uH, bADASS,,,i CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THEM,,  
AT: uH, tHEY'RE NOT,,,iN PLACES,,,lIKE,,,tHAT GIRLS PIERCING,,,  
AT: ,,,,,rIGHT,,,?  
AT: i MEAN,,,nOT THAT THAT WASN'T, uH, nICE LOOKING,,,  
AT: sHE HAD A VERY NICE, uH,,,,i WAS JUST,,,aSKING sO I'LL HAVE,,,  
AT: y'KNOW,,,wARNING,,,nEXT TIME

Tavros bit his bottom lip, cursing inwardly and wishing he wasn't such a fucking failure.

* * *

Gamzee bursted out in fits of laughters, luckily he had only one neighbor,one side was empty, and on the otherside was a collage couple that couldn't complain about noise, since you could hear them moaning for hours on end. A pervy Gamzee had actually made a hole when he first moved in at the start of summer, but he had soon found out he couldn't see anything, except the busty blonde brushing her hair infront of a mirror. He was very dissapointed that day, and quickly tried to patch it up with some clay his brother had.

TC: nO, TavBrO, tHeY'rE nOt. ;o)  
TC: I hAve OnE Of A gUy TaKiNg ThE tErM "oNe eyEd SnAKe" mOrE MoTheRfUckIng lITeRal, NoT sUre If YoU'd lIke tHat THouGh.  
TC: HeH, aLrIghT, i'Ll TeLl YoU nExT tImE.

He wiped his eyes, smudging his make up off as he replied to Nepeta, smiling at her natural roleplay typing.

TC: *tC PeTs ThE mOtHerFucKeRs HeAd* WhAtS uP, NePsIs?

* * *

Eridan huffed.

CA: if you don't knoww wwho i am wwhy wwould you add me as a contact?  
CA: the guy wwith the makeup? Oh right i saww you earlier today.

Eridan smiled then. Gamzee was actually kind of cute. He pulled his hands away from the keyboard and popped his knuckles, his many rings digging into his palms. Once his hands were back on the keys, he put on his best charming act. One as nice looking as Gamzee Makara could be a worthwhile person to talk to.

CA: Ohh yes gamzee makara. may i call you gam?  
CA: You just movved here right? havve you been around the towwn yet? i could showw you quite a feww fun places if youre interested.

* * *

Tavros knew Gamzee was probably laughing at him, who wouldn't be, but when the other boy finally replied back Tavros felt a little more relieved. He didn't really get the "one eyed snake" joke. Did the man have a tattoo of a cyclops snake on him somewhere? Maybe. That must be it. Tavros wouldn't be opposed to seeing that, he thought snakes were actually kind of cute. Truth be told, he loved all animals.

AT: oH, uH, nO IT'S COOL,,,i LIKE SNAKES, i THINK THEY'RE CUTE.  
AT: eVEN IF, uH, tHEY'VE ONLY GOT ONE EYE.  
AT: i FEEL A LITTLE SORRY FOR IT THOUGH. i KIND OF WISH I COULD, uH, i DUNNO,,,pET IT AND MAKE IT FEEL BETTER,,,oR SOMETHING.

* * *

AC: :33 *ac purrs under Gamzee's hand, then smiles sneakily at him* I was RPing with Tavros, but he seems more interested in talking to YOOOOU 3 *she giggles thinking about how cute her little buddy has been acting lately*

* * *

Gamzee typed away, still considering that other slice of pizza... Eghhhh No, he was too lazy. Save some for his brother.  
But...  
No. No pizza. A sigh went by as he replied to the person who seemed to lack a name.

TC: KaRkaT GaVe Me YoUr HaNdLe. BuT yEaH! Go AhEAd aND CalL Me WhaT yOu MoTHeRfUckInG wANt.  
TC: sHiT bRo..  
TC: It'D bE AweSOme tO HaVe sOmeOne Do ThAt, SincE I mOved HeRe IvE onLy BeeN AT tHe TaT SHop My BrO OpeNed, And HomE, rEaLlY.  
TC: BuT...  
TC: cOUlD I lIke, KnOw WhAt MoTHeRfUckEr I'm TalKinG tO?

He couldn't help but a little more confused, so he minmized that chat, checking on a Tavros whom seemed to be messaging him quite a b- "Aww!" Gamzee cried out, once again, started in a fit of laughing at how naive this little motherfucker was.

TC: Oh GoD, .. AigHt BrO, I'mA SeNd YoU a PiC Of WhAt A MotHeRfUCkIng OnE EyEd SnAKe Is.  
TC: *Picture sent*  
TC: sTiLl WaNT tO PeT iT? hOnK.

Gamzee slapped his face a little bit, grinning ear to ear. He was just the cutest little motherfucker in the world. Along with Nepeta, but she was more adorable in a less awkward way, more like a little sister. Speaking of which.

TC: oH... DoNt GeT aNy MoThErfUckInG ideAs, sIs. i ThInK I JusT GavE hIm a HeaRt AttAcK ShOwINg Him SomE wIckEd PieRCinGs, ANd Now wHAt A One EyEd SnAKe Is.

* * *

Well fuck, it probably would've been a lot smoother if he had remembered to tell this asshole his name. "Nyeh." Eridan said, sticking out his tongue. He glared at the computer screen, as if it was the machines fault he looked like a douchebag.

CA: oh right  
CA: my name is eridan ampora  
CA: you'vve probably heard of my family before, wwe're vvery wwell knowwn evven if you're not from around here.

Whatever face he might have lost for forgetting to introduce himself, he was fairly certain his family's money and reputation would win it back. After all, noone thought an Ampora was an asshat.

CA: of course karkat wwould givve it to you.  
CA: so if i'm understandin you, you'd like for me to showw you around the towwn? excellent.

* * *

:33 *ac grins wickedly* Ohh it's too late, I've already pegged you two purrfectly 3 *she says, purring a little*  
:33 Oh my gosh Gamzee, you didn't! He'll flip out! Tav has a weak constitution! You'll put him in a coma or something!

Nepeta was shocked enough to actually drop her roleplay act. She messaged Tavros to check on him but he didn't respond. Oh dear.

* * *

Tavros clicked on the picture, expecting to see a cute little reptile short an eye. This...was not a reptile. Or cute.  
The laptop fell from Tavros' lap with a thud as he shoved his hands forward, trying to make the image go away. Oh god, it was fucking...huge and...Jesus!

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god!" Tavros chanted, his face now bright red as he stared, horrified, at the image on his screen. Why would-What the fu-Why would Gamzee even have pictures of that on his-Was that Gamzee's...No, probably not, shit. Why did he even care who's it was? Oh god oh god oh god! He heard the messenger ding again and saw Gamzee had asked if he still wanted to pet it.

"Fuck no!" Tavros answered aloud, even though Gamz couldn't hear him. He saw also that Nepeta was messaging him, but he ignored it, trying to collect himself. How was he supposed to respond to this!? Why had Gamzee shown him this!? He was perfectly content to just imagine a cute little snake with one eye for the rest of his life. Oh god oh god oh god. Did he mention that thing was huge? Why was he still looking at it?!

* * *

Gamzee pushed his thumb versus his lip, thinking if he'd heard the name "Ampora" before. Um.. His thoughts rolled around a bit, Ampora... He grabbed his phone.

TC: BrOoOoOoO... DoEs AmPoRa soUnD FamIlIar?  
?: Why, actually it does. Ampora Fishing Co. Or some shit. I think dad was kind of buddy buddy with the owner, why?

Gamzee swallowed hard at the mention of his father.. It was **NOT**something he wanted to dwell on..

TC: MeT ErIdAn AmPoRa. KiD WHo gOes To My scHoOl. hOnK.  
?: Oh. Interesting. Don't piss him off, okay? Cuz, if he sues us, it wont be us.  
?: It'll be you.  
?: I will disown you.  
TC: 3

Gamzee shook his head, smiling a bit, his brother could be such an ass at times, but that was okay. Garrett was a nice guy over all, and he was pretty funny, and was a little dishearted when he didn't reply with another stupid reply, but, he just looked at his chat with Eridan again.

TC: Oh, GoT iT eRiBrO. :o)  
TC: YeAh, AcTuaLlY, ThInK i HaVE, SomEthINg To Do WiTh fIshINg? HeH, soRrY If I'm A LItTle MotHerFucKiNg wRonG.  
TC: tHoUgh... YeAh... ThAt'D Be AwEsOmE!

Then he checked Nepeta, his eyes widening.

TC: PeGGed WhAT DoES THaT evEN mOthErfUckIng-  
TC:...  
TC: oshit

Gamzee quickly turned to him and Tavros's chat, his cheeks darkened beyond belief, seeing that it said he'd seen the message, but he still had not replied! Though he didn't take Nepeta completely literal, he was a little worried, and embaressed, he couldn't help but just laugh though, a few tears welling his eyes from laughing.

TC: shittt tavbro, i'm sorry.  
TC: i gUeSs I cOuld GiVE yOu MoRe Of A WaRnINg,  
TC: bUt YeAh, LiKe I SaId.. "nOt SurE iF yOu'd lIkE tHat."  
TC: My BrO SeNt ThaT tO mE, AnD tRuST mE, I dIdNt LiKE It EItHer. BuT, GaRrEtT HaD TO aCtUalLy dO tHe MoTheRfUckIng TaT, aNd hE iSn't GaY, So..

Gamzee sighed, his laughs fading, he felt incredibly bad, he had to remember not everyone liked boys. Not that he was into this picture, but still, it's worse for a heterosexual, rather a panexual. His phone started ringing.  
"Heyyyy-lo?"  
"Gamzee? Yo' bro! It's been awhile!" It was one of his friends from his old school, another stoner. This call would be awhile, they haven't talked all summer.

TC: AnYwAyS, I hAvE To MoThErFuCKInG gO, i HoPe I dIDn't KilL yOu Or anYThInG. SeE yOu aT ScHoOl

He sighed. Oh god, he felt so stupid, but he shook it off, going onwards with his call, after saying good bye to Eridan and Nepeta of course.

* * *

Eridan smiled. Of course Gamzee knew his family. Now that he thought about it, he was pretty sure his father knew a Makara. He'd ask Gamzee about that later though, possibly in person.

CA: no that's right. my family owwns sevveral smaller fishin companies all around the wworld.  
CA: excellent. you can meet me at the mall on saturday, wwe'll make a day out of it.

He frowned when Gamzee agreed and then hastily told him goodbye. Eridan didn't like that Gamzee would rather chat with an old friend than spend time getting to know him better. Eridan was positive he was more interesting than whoever Gamzee was talking to. He responded politely regardless though, satisfied that Gamzee had at least agreed to meet him Saturday.

* * *

Nepeta glared at the computer. When Gamzee told her a quick goodbye she huffed.

:33 gamzee, I'm a very sweet purrson, but so help me if Tavros is even the slightest bit broken...  
:(( you will regret it  
:oo FIX IT.

That was the last thing she sent before Gamzee signed off. She liked Gamzee, he seemed like a nice guy, but Tavros was her best friend and she was very protective of him. She tried to message him again, but saw that he had already signed off. She'd just have to try to catch him at school tomorrow.

* * *

Tavros had finally got the nerve up to close the picture and delete it. His cheeks were still burning, but he had calmed himself down enough to look over Gamzee's messages.  
It wasn't that Tavros was mad. Just...shocked? Confused? A lot of things. He read Gamzee's hasty goodbye and logged off soon after him. Tavros wasn't really sure if he'd be able to look Gamzee in the eye during school tomorrow...

* * *

Gamzee went on with his call, his legs crossed.  
"So what's been goin' on?" His friend asked.  
"You remember that one-eyed snake joke Garrett did on me?"  
"Yeah! Oh god that was priceless."  
"Well, I showed my new bro Tavros it via motherfucking pesterchum, and I think I gave him a heart attack." Gamzee sighed a bit, he really did feel kind of guilty, and Nepeta didn't really help. Though, he did look forward to his "date" with Eridan, or at least figuring out who he is. His friend didn't reply, rather just laughed unhumanly loud, calling his friend rude names, Gamzee finally said, "Fuck you."  
"Yes, please. Saturday." His voice still consisted of small snickers, taking Gamzees **taunt** literal.  
"Can't. Already got motherfucking plans with an _Ampora_."  
"So jealous, dude. Anyways, Roxy says that she misses you, you're all she's been talking about."  
Roxy.. A old friend, and Gamzees second girlfriend. She was obsessive, and tried to get pregnant on several accounts with the clown.  
"She is insane.."

The rest of their call mostly revolved around her, and then trailed to how other friends were, and when they'd next see eachother, and before Gamzee knew it, it was 11pm, and he had to go.  
"Bro, I'ma go catch some motherfuckin' z's."  
" 'Aight, night." Was all his friend said before hanging up. It was alright.

Garrett would be home soon, but when he did come, Gamzee didn't even notice, the next time he opened his eyes after hanging up, it was morning.


	4. It's all about competing

Tavros barely made it to school on time. He wheeled himself toward his locker, only to be stopped in the hallway by Vriska.

"Hiiiiiiii Tavros." She said in a sing-song voice. It made Tavros cringe.

"I'm really not-" He started, only to be cut off by her.  
"I'm not here to fuck with you Hot Wheels. I'm actually here to help you." She sneered. Tavros doubted that, but he listened to what the girl had to say anyway.  
"Nepeta's been searching for you all morning, she's even got her creepy brother looking for you. I was just going to warn you that he's waiting in front of your locker. I know you two don't really get along." She smiled as she said the last part and Tavros just glared.  
Equius had always thought that he was trying to date Nepeta, or get into her pants, or whatever. He wasn't, but that didn't stop Equius from yelling at him about it every time he saw Tavros. Ugh. He really didn't want to deal with that weirdo.

"Why are you warning me? What do you want?" Tavros' eyes narrowed in suspicion. Vriska merely smiled at him, laughing a little.

"I just don't want to see my poor human-gokart get hurt, that's all." She said, pinching Tavros' cheek. Tav grunted, swiping her hand away. "Also, I'm going to need your science notes from yesterday. Hand them over, as a reward for the heads up I just gave you." Tavros grimaced, of course. It was always something. He dug the notes out of his backpack and gave them to the taller girl. She looked them over then flashed the boy another wicked smile before walking off. Tav sighed, trying to think of a way to avoid Nep's "brother".

* * *

Nepeta spied Gamzee and ran over to him, tapping him on the shoulder with a worried look on her face. The girl had not seen her best friend all morning, and oh GOD was she becoming worried! He was okay, right?

"Have you seen Tav this morning? I can't find him and he didn't meet me outside by the tree like he usually does." She whined.

* * *

Gamzee walked into the school, though early, it was already swelled with students. And it was highly uncomfortabe. His headphones were put on, as he started playing some music, ignoring the stares. He looked around for someone he recognized. Alas, no one.  
Actually, he saw Tavros, distanced away, but.. Gamzee decided he wouldn't bother him, he looked like he was busy. Or.. Something. God, he still felt bad about that.

Then, Nepeta came out of nowhere, tapping his shoulder.  
"Yeah, actually, I motherfucking saw him wheeling, ovvvvvver there." He pointed his hand in the direction of where he'd seen Tavros go. "you know, I really am all up and sorry for doing that to him. Felt bad all night, actually kind of tired today." Gamzee groaned, rubbing the back of his head. He still hadn't spotted Eridan.

* * *

Equius stood by Tavros's locker, leaning against it, his arms crossed. He didn't like being away from his little half-sister, but, if he must.. He would comply. His eyes scanned the hallways, and he wasn't no where- A sigh escaped his lips. "NITRAM." He yelled out, still looking calm. When Tavros came closer, he didn't even look down, Equius simply kept looking forward. "Nepeta is looking for you." He rolled his shoulders, his broken sunglasses still on.. Inside.

* * *

Tavros jumped at the sound of his last name and turned to face Nepeta's brother.  
"Hi Equiu-" He started, but was cut off by the taller boys statement. From anyone else, it was probably meant to be a helpful hint. A simple, "Oh hey, your friend is looking for you" but from Equius, it was a demand. Tavros had learned to read between the lines of his speech over his years of friendship with Nepeta, and he knew when Equius said Nepeta was looking for him, what he was really saying was "You've worried my sister. You better go find her right fucking now."  
Tavros nodded, making a move to turn and go off to find the girl, until he heard his name yelled again.

* * *

Nepeta smiled at Gamzee, a sincere but still somewhat mischevious smile.

"It's okay Gamzee. Don't feel so bad. I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just...Tav is a really special person to me, and he's been through a lot. And he just really seems to like y-" She started before she heard Equius yell Tavros' name.

"Oh god. I better go stop my brother before he uses Tavros as a dumbell." She patted Gamzee on the shoulder, grinning at him again. "Seriously, don't worry about it. Tav is a little...sensitive. But he'll bounce back." She called Tavros' name, running towards him.

* * *

Gamzee yawned a bit, "I get that, Nepsis. Tell him I'm sorry if ya' don't mind, kay?" He said, the first time, not swearing in a sentence. Impressive. He watched her run off, and go to tend to her friend. Once again, he was alone, he was so used to having so many friends at his old school, here he was just the weird guy with the make-up.. There he was the creative guy dork that didn't have enemies. It was so different, not having his best friends, or Roxy begging for him to come back. It was just..  
His cuts were cut off, by a new stranger

* * *

Karkat walked down the hallways, followed by a oddball, Terezi, who kept at trying to lick him, and annoy him. It was FUCKING working.  
"Terezi... Terezi quit it... TEREZI YOU FUCK ASS STOP IT." He yelled a bit, his eyes wide.  
"Hehehe! Why? You're so angry." She shrugged, despite her taller height, she leaned down, giving him a hug from behind, causing him to drop his books. And, making him swear even more, followed by loud groaning.  
Karkat was Terezis main use for eye sight, she really depended on him, so much, they were given all the same classes. He was her second pair of eyes,when she required them, and although he acted like an ass hole, he was glad to help. She sniffed the air. "Gamzee's here..." She trailed her voice, although not as good as Karkles, jelly was a good scent.  
"Oh fucking grea-" He was cut off, by her dragging him to go see their friend.

* * *

Eridan had already had his morning argument with Feferi. Apparently she was infatuated with Sollux Captor (A fucking nerd, how delightful.) and she didn't care for Eridan's opinion of him. Whatever, he had bigger fish to fry right now.

Figuratively anyway. In all honestly he hated the taste of fish. Growing up around it made him averse to it.

The first thing he noticed about Gamzee as he approached him was not his makeup. It was his hair. Eridan's own hair was neatly styled into a fohawk, the small swoop of his bangs dyed a stark blond to contrast his dark brown hair. Gamzee's was...well everywhere. Eridan began to rethink his offer for a date until the boy turned around. Alright, he guessed his hair wasn't that bad.

"Gam?" Eridan questioned, his hand coming up to adjust his glasses. "It's me. Eridan."

* * *

Gamzee smiled, nodding a bit, his hands in his hoodies pockets. "Yeah?" He instantly recognized him. This was defiantly an Ampora, rich-looking, and calling him 'Gam'. Plus, it was confirmed shortly after calling his name whom he was. One of his hands lifed out, giving Eridan a small wave. "Oh, hey, Eribro! S'all up and nice to motherfucking see you. You look nice." He smiled, meaning it no more than a friendly compliment, Gamzee stood up straight, shrugging his shoulders. The conversation between the hipster and the drug addict was interrupted by the blind girl and the angry boy.  
"Hey, Gamzee!" Terezi smiled, waving at him, Karkat still dragged behind her.  
"Hey Tersis, hey, bestfriend."  
"Why is the fucking hipster here?" Karkat inquired, his gaze flowing to the over-dressed fuckass snob. Karkat didn't hate everyone like he so said, but Eridan was someone he really didn't care for. At. Fucking. All.

* * *

Eridan grimaced, glaring at Karkat with a condescending sneer.  
"For your information, short stack, I'm talking to Gam about our rendavous next Saturday. Seeing as this conversation doesn't concern you, why don't you run along to class."  
Eridan didn't like many people, but he especially didn't like short little nobody's who didn't know who they were supposed to respect. He eyed Terezi, but didn't say anything to her. She was never really a problem, she just mostly laughed at everything.

Eridan threw an arm around Gamzee, smirking down at Karkat. "Do you have a problem with me hanging around with your "best friend"?"

* * *

Tavros wasn't listening to Nepeta. He had tried to focus on what his friend was saying, but his eyes were still on Gamzee. Eridan was talking to him about something...and then Karkat and Terezi had joined the conversation. Tav watched as Eridan slipped his arm around the taller boy with a smirk, and felt his chest tighten.

"Wh-Why is...Eridan..." Tav started, and Nepeta turned to see what he was looking at.  
"Oh no! He's going to completely screw up my shipping wall!" she wailed.

* * *

Gamzee didn't cringe, or move when Eridan put an arm around him, rather just kept almost the same emotion, just more smiling, no other real reaction. At his old school he was used to much worse. Especially from Roxy, whom out of no where would try to start a sloppy make out with the clown, where he would (un)kindly refuse, and push her away. Usually though, it was his bros either acting violent, or girls trying to give him a smooch on the cheek. It was nice though getting away from THAT. But, besides that, it was obvious he missed his old friends.  
Karkat spoke up, now glaring at Eridan with hateful eyes. "Shouldn't you be in a fucking private school if you're so goddamn smart, fuckass? Oh no, you're not smart, you're just rich. But I suppose even with all that money, the better schools can't push past how utterly fucking IDIOTIC you are." Karkat stomped forward a bit, but was instantly stopped by Terezi, who put an arm out, stopping him.  
"Calm down, Karkles." She shook her head, sighing.

* * *

Equius had a rather quizzical expression, but his glasses hid most of that. "What has Eridan done -**this**- time?" He asked, and much like his sister and "friend" turned around slightly, facing the situation, but he saw no problem with it, Nepeta had not shared her update with him yet. She usually did. Told him every last detail, and although some parts were disgusting... He did like how open his little sister was to him.

* * *

Eridan huffed, but the smirk stayed fixed to his lips.  
"Believe me, the only reason I'm not in a private school right now is because my parents insist I stay here at the bottom of the barrel with people like _you_." He shifted a little, his arm resting more comfortably around Gamzee's frame. "I can understand if you're jealous though. If having money makes you a happier person, it's easy to guess where you fall at on the poverty line, little miss sunshine." Eridan laughed out the nickname, his voice dripping in sarcasm. He looked away from Karkat for a moment, his eyes fixed on Tavros in the distant.  
"Is there a fuckin reason that kid in the chair has been staring at us? Is he another member of your colourful group of misfits, Kar?"

* * *

Tavros bit his bottom lip. He heard Nepeta start to tell Equius about her latest ship, and why she was so upset over this, but the noise just sort of faded out in his mind. He watched Eridan's grip on Gamzee tighten and he sighed. Eridan was rich, really handsome and fairly popular. If he wanted something, he took it. Tavros admired that about him actually, all that confidence. That was something Tavros would never have. He continued to stare at the group until Eridans eyes fell on him. He saw him mouth something and then everyones eyes were on him, including Gamzee's.

"O-Oh...I need to...get to class." He stuttered, spinning his chair around and rolling down the hall. Nepeta was close behind him, followed by Equius.

"Tav...You know how Eridan is. He takes liberties with everyone. And Gamzee is so friendly, of course he's not going to shove him off. Gamzee just got here, I'm sure he's not already in Eridan's clutches." Nepeta laughed a little.

"You said he...uh, liked boys." Tavros reminded her, his voice sullen.

"Well...Yeah but, I mean-" She started.

"Eridan's a boy." Tav muttered. He ran a hand through his mohawk, his usual nervous gesture. Nepeta sighed.

"That doesn't mean anything Tav. I'm sure Eridan is just being a jerk like he usually is. I mean, they're probably not serious or-" Tavros cut her off again with a sigh.

"It's not even that Nep it's just...I guess...I mean, how can I...even compete?" His voice was sad, and the conversation ended. Tavros wheeled himself into first period, wanting nothing more than to lay his head on his desk and disappear.


	5. Lunchtime arguments

**~*~I'm so sorry if the P.O.V. changes too much. I'm so sorry. ''OTL ~*~**

Gamzee's worried smile faded to a nervous, lowbrowed expression, "Hey, bro, don't bring him into this, Tavbro ain't doing motherfucking shit..." He turned and gave Eridan a bit of a smile.  
"Oh? Is that you're GODDAMN excuse? Mommy and fucking daddy don't want you in a good school? Real nice one, Erifag." Karkat was really pissed now, his breathing getting quick, and his eyes twitching slightly. Terezi sighed, becoming red-cheeked at all the attention these two drama kings were bringing.  
"Karkles, come on, we're going to be late for class." She said, tugging on his shirt, hiding her face under her hair. God, this was so stupid. At first, Karkat didn't budge, but, she was dragging him now, in the direction she THOUGHT was first period, but, a let-down Karkat, corrected her, and went to the right class. Gamzee moved away a bit. "Yeah, I think I ought' to head to class too, I'll see you at lunch, I guess?"

* * *

Equius nodded,seeming almost unstunned by her exaggerations of how 'purrrrfect' Tavros and Gamzee were together. He had became quite used to it. Though, she did seem pretty set about this "ship."... Equius would have to read her shipping wall, and making sure she's not becoming inappropiate. Older brothers should do such a thing, right? Yes, yes... He wasn't being foolish, or uncanny... The idea of him being a bad brother caused the man to perspire slightly.

Then, they left to first period, Equius shared all his classes with his sister except their elective class, and needless to say, that worried the fuck out of him.

* * *

Eridan smiled at Gamzee's words, shaking his head.  
"Sooner than that. We've got first period together. I doubt you noticed me yesterday because we hadn't been introduced, but I remember you because of your makeup." Eridan said it in a sweet way. He didn't mind Gamzee's face paint. He actually rather liked that the boy was brave enough to walk around a high school dolled up like a clown. It took guts, and Eridan respected guts.

He walked to first period with Gamzee, taking the seat in the back beside him. He spent the class getting to know a little bit more about Mr. Makara, finding that they actually had a few things in common.  
"I play the cello and the violin." Eridan answered when Gamzee asked what kind of music he liked. "My mother insisted I learn to play an instrument, so I started lessons when I was three."

* * *

Tavros really did want to disappear. He watched Gamzee come in the classroom with Eridan close behind him, and listened to the two of them talk it up throughout the entire class. His heart sank a little more with every word and by the time the bell rang for second period he discovered he'd missed taking half of the notes for the upcoming test. Perfect. He supposed he could get them from somebody later but...He wasn't usually this unorganized. He needed something to take his mind off what he was feeling.

* * *

Gamzee seemed slightly impressed, his eyes wide. "Oh? Fucking awesome!" He grinned, walking with the rich-kid to class, and sitting next to him in first period. It seemed the teacher didn't mind them talking, seeming Gamzee still got everything down. Though, the tall clown-like student noticed that Tavros had looked at them a few times. That made Gamzee rather uncomfortable, feeling bad for him.. Gamzee still remembered to smile when their eyes met though.

Eridan was doing most of the talking, and although there was a few things that they didn't have in common, Gamzee kept quiet, and just nodded. He was rather stunned at the hipsters achievments. He tried his best to listen to every word, but between Tavros, and the teacher, that wasn't so easy. He didn't have much to share about himself anyways, he felt like Eridan would just look down on him if he talked too much about himself anyways.

Once that period ended, Gamzee said his goodbyes to his new friend, and made his way to second period, where Eridan was gone, but Tavros was present. And, he decided to choose a seat next to the boy in a wheel chair.  
"Hey, Tavbro.." His smile was simper, as he set his stuff down.

* * *

Tavros jumped a little at the sound of Gamzee's voice, turning to give the taller boy a shy smile.  
"Hey, uh, Gamzee.."  
_Where's your shadow?_ Tavros didn't say it, but he couldn't help thinking it as he looked around a little for Eridan. He guessed that they didn't share this period, and Tavros felt a little relieved to finally have him gone.  
"Gamzee, uh, I know this is...well, weird, but do you have the notes from first period? I guess I kind of...spaced out." He lied, " So I only got about half."  
He had to lie. Even though he was pretty sure it was obvious that he was watching the two of them, Tavros didn't want to seem weird by admitting that the reason he was lacking notes was that he was too busy listening to Eridan talk about himself. "I'll just, uh, copy them really quick and give them back."

* * *

Gamzee sat next to Tavros, slouching with his chin in his hand, shoulder on the table. "Yeah, I motherfucking got 'em.." He hummed slightly, pulling the papers out, and handing them to the smaller student. "Here," His smile came back a bit stronger, he liked this particular spot, next to Tavros, but still in the back. After a few moments, when his notes were handed back to him, Gamzee could feel his cheeks get a little warm at thought of a current question in his head. "Tav.." He started, "That picture didn't get you all wrecked up, right? Nepeta got on my motherfucking case about it, and trust me I felt kind'a guilty all night once I got off the phone."  
He was slightly expecting Tavros admit to "accidentily" blocking him out of fear, then ignoring him for the rest of ever.

* * *

Tavros stared for a moment at Gamzee's slight blush that passed his make-up just enough, then when he heard the question his own face lit up and he laughed a little nervously.  
"I...What, no...I mean..I did kind of, uh, freak out a little...but that's because I've never, you know, seen...uhm...someone elses...uh..." Tavros trailed off, realizing that once again he'd probably said too much. His face was on fire now and he made a small squeaky noise in the back of his throat before he fixed his eyes on the floor.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I was just...I'm okay. P-Please don't feel...bad, uh, or anything."

Tavros smiled a little, in what he hoped was a sincere way, but kept his eyes fixed to the floor. Yep, that was an interesting floor. He could stare at it all day. Possibly for the rest of his fucking life.

* * *

Gamzee shook his head, a small smirk tinging at his lips. "If you say so, my brother." He did feel a lot better after him saying that, not that it was that much of a concern in the first place, but, it was still something that annoyed him, seeing Tavros all uncomfortable. "But I know how you're so.." His voice trailed a bit, thinking of a term, "Motherfucking innocent," Yeah. That worked. Gamzee now had a small grin, as he leaned closer to Tavros, pinching his cheek. "I think it's adorable though."

"Mister Makara, could you please refrain from any PDA with Nitram?" The teacher asked, directing everyones gaze to them, luckily, Gamzee had pulled back, so he wasn't hunched over Tavros, simply sitting next to him with a lazy smile.  
"Yeah, sure." Gamzee faked a yawn, and then continued the rest of his class, mostly paying attention.

Third period and fourth period passed rather nicely, and then lunch came. And again, that was amazing. Though, He was hoping there was an extended table where he could sit with Karkat, Terezi, Tavros, Eridan, Nepeta, and Equius. Or maybe they could go outside? They were in highschool. Gamzee suggested the idea to Karkat.  
"You want to fucking invite Eridan -and- Tavros? Pick a boyfriend already." He rolled his eyes, in truth, Karkat didn't like either of the boys. "Anyways, i'll fucking come, I suppose. I'll meet you out there." He said, on his way outside, he brought his own lunch, and today, had romanticalllllllllly packed one for Terezi as well. On their way out, Terezi and Karkat told Equius and Nepeta about Gamzees plans. Equius simply nodded, not saying too much on the matter itself.

* * *

Tavros was still rubbing the spot on his cheek that Gamzee had pinched during second period. He was grinning, and felt a little silly about doting over something like that, but it didn't really stop him. Nepeta ran towards him, grinning from ear to ear.

"Tavros! C'mon! Gamzee wants to eat outside with us! We came to find you!" She giggled and Tavros nodded, joining in with her excitement.

"Yeah, uh, alright. Let me just put my bookbag in my locker first."

Nepeta leaned in closer to him, smirking.

"We were supposed to find Eridan and invite him, but I accidentally 'forgot'." She laughed a little mischeviously and Tavros' smile faded.

"O-Oh...Nepeta that's, uh, not right." Tavros murmured, despite a voice rejoicing in the back of his mind. Nepeta rolled her eyes.

"Tav, sometimes you've got to fight for what you want. And sometimes that means fighting a little...dirty."

Tavros opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when he saw Eridan standing by the cafeteria door, obviously scanning the room for Gamzee. Nepeta followed his eyes and frowned.

"Don't you do it Tavros. Do you think if the situation were reversed he would tell you? He wouldn't!" She wailed, but Tavros shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

"I know. But, uh, I'm not him..." He threw his backpack in his locker and rolled toward the pretentious rich boy, tapping him on his lower back. "Uhm, E-Eridan?"

"What?" He sneered, and for a moment the taller boys tone made Tavros regret his decision to be the bigger man. But it was too late to go back now.

"Gamzee wants us to meet him outside for lunch. If, uh, you want to come."

"Of course I want to." Eridan spat, pushing his way past Tavros and heading out into the courtyard.

"You're, uh, welcome...jerk." Tavros grumbled. Nepeta sighed.

"Happy, Mr. Goody-two-shoes?" She asked, taking the handles behind his chair and leading him out towards where Gamzee and everyone else was sitting.

Equius sighed at his little sisters immaturity. He wasn't even aware of the fact Tavros was a homosexual.. He'd seen him staring at his sister on more than one ocassion. So.. It caught him off guard. Equius simply just nodded at his sisters ramblings, and followed them to Karkat and Terezi, "Where is Makara?"

* * *

Gamzee sat down, bringing a lunch he'd gotten from the school cafeteria, though not hungry. Not for an unknown unedible meal anyways. He should've brought something from home, but Garrett had snatched the last slice of pizza, and he still needed to go shopping. Even chips would've been better than this.  
"Gamzee, are you going to fucking eat? It's annoying watching you stare at that shit." Karkat made an expression of disgust.  
"Yeah, sorry, tuned out, motherfucker." He turned his gaze to his bestfriend for a moment, but then looked forward again, taking a bite of his food. "Goddamn, how do you guys eat this on a daily motherfucking basis?" He threw it into a near by trashcan.  
"We don't, I just have Karkles bring me a lunch, like the adorable boyfriend he is." Terezi leaned over, poking Karkats cheek, and smiling. "Hehehe! Isn't that right?" She giggled, taking a bite of a her sandwich. He grunted, and rolled his eyes. They all sat in silence for a few minutes, well, aside from the shortest student yelling for her to cease poking him, but Gamzee popped up,  
"Any of you motherfuckers have a dollar I can use to get'ta soda from the machine?" He asked, holding his slightly growling stomach. Karkat didn't feel like sharing any of his pocket change, but Terezi reached over to his back pocket, grabbing his wallet.  
"FUCK! DONT. TOUCH. ME. THERE." He yelped out, glaring at his girlfriend, Terezi simply laughed, handing Gamzee $2.

Gamzee left to the bending machine, sticking in a dollar, and grabbing a faygo, but he saw Eridan coming from the school building, he put out an arm.

* * *

Eridan smiled. trying to look more pleasant than cunning, as he approached Gamzee.  
"Yes, hello Gam. What...What're you drinkin? That stuff is highly unhealthy. You're putting poison into your body. Here." He reached into the large bag under his arm and pulled out a bottle of filtered water, handing it to the the taller boy, then pulled out a small box.  
"Did you bring a lunch? If not, you're welcome to have some of mine. It's filet mingnon, but I'm afraid our cook is fairly new so the sauce that accompanies it is quite weak. Still, it's sufferable." He held the box out the Gamzee, a delicious smell surrounding it. "I've also got several slices of organic fruit, and some steamed vegetables to accompany the filet." Eridan smirked. "I've only brought one fork however, but I don't see a problem with sharing."

* * *

Tavros took the lunch Nepeta held out to him, situating his chair under a nearby tree as he listened to Karkat rant about Terezi stealing his dollars so Gamzee could buy a soda. He laughed a little, pulling out one of the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Nepeta had packed for him. Her mother always packed an extra lunch for Tavros, ever since they became friends. He was always grateful for it, Nepeta's mom always made really delicious food.

He glanced over, in time to see Eridan and Gamzee walking toward everyone together. How did Eridan find him so fast? He felt a nervous knot form in his stomach and the delicious taste of peanut butter and jelly suddenly soured in his mouth. He was really regretting not "forgetting" to invite Eridan, like Nepeta had suggested.

"Told you." She muttered beside him, almost like she could read Tavros' mind. He frowned, sighing a little and biting back into his sandwich.

* * *

"Yeah, probably motherfucking is, but-" Gamzee was cut off at Eridan, handing him a water bottle. The student nodded, "Thanks, Eribro, but like, I can't eat all that much during lunch anyways. Not that I'm motherfucking hungry though." He touched his chin, wiping the smallest bit of white make up. He wouldn't smuge it by eating, though it was nice of Eridan to offer. Gamzee listened to him as they walked back, he'd probably end up drinking the faygo rather the water, but still, it was a nice gesture.

* * *

Karkat sat yelling at Terezi. "WHAT THE HELL GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO FUCKING GIVE MY MONEY TO THAT GODDAMN CLOWN?!" He fumed,  
"He's your bestfriend."  
"Says WHO?"  
"You."  
"I did not fucking call him my best friend."  
"Yes you did- Oh, hi- Mint-Nepeta!" She laughed, enjoying the scent. Equius sat near his sister, and noticed something about the snack she'd brought for Tavros.  
"Isn't peanut butter and jelly the name of your newest ship?" He has asked, raising an eyebrow, "Please don't inform me thats the sole reason you had our mother make this." He lifted his glasses for only a moment, intently staring at his baby sister.

Gamzee finally reached the others, followed by Eridan, he instantly raised a hand. "Hey, motherfuckers," He grinned, most of his gaze focused on the boy in a wheel chair.

* * *

Nepeta grinned, giggling a little as she winked at Equius.  
"Just wanted to remind him." She looked at Tavros, who was glowing bright red right now. He continued eating the sandwich, giving Nepeta a silent glare. He didn't need to be reminded of her crazy ship through his food. When he heard Gamzee's voice though, his face instantly perked up and he smile.

"Hi Gamzee!" He called, his voice almost getting lost in the chorus of hello's from everyone else. Nepeta ran forward, leaning in to whisper at Gamzee.

"I'm not sure if you apologized or what, but Tav seems to be in a much better mood lately. So thank you." She said before walking casually back to sit by her brother.

Eridan frowned.

"Okay...That was weird." He grasped Gamzee's arm, pulling him over toward a bench and down beside him.  
"If you're sure you don't want food, I suppose I'll eat it myself. I do wish you'd eat though, it can't be healthy. Perhaps you should start packing a lunch? I could have my cook pack you one, if you'd like?"

Tavros' head perked up.

"You didn't p-pack a lunch? Oh, uh, do you want one of my PB&J's? Nepeta's mom always, uh, packs a lot..." He blushed, holding a sandwich out to Gamzee with a smile.

"No, uh, no problem..." Tavros muttered, stuffing what was left of his sandwich into his mouth.

Eridan growled when Gamzee took the sandwich, opening his mouth the ask why his food wasn't good enough but a lowly PB&J was apparently perfect, but Gamzee's arm around him cut off any protest he had and Eridan smiled, nestling himself closer to Gamzee as the boy ate.

"So I was thinking...about Saturday. I figured we could see a movie, there's a really good scary one playing." His eyes moved to Tavros for a moment and the sad look on the boys face made Eridan smirk.

Saturday? Tavros' heart sunk. Obviously Gamzee had plans with Eridan on that day...a date? He bit his bottom lip and glanced at Nepeta. She gave him a weak smile back and a shrug.

* * *

Gamzee gave Tavros a toothy grin, but then listened to Eridan, nodding. "Seriously? That'd be motherfucking awesome. I haven't seen a movie at theaters in like... A fucking year." He thought about it, at his old home, the local theater had been closed, and broke into used as a hide out for local druggies every now and then. But the cops almost every-time found them, considering that was the "BEST" place to go. Frankly, Gamzee just did it in his room, and still hadn't got caught. But he only did it when he forgot his pills, speaking of which... He pulled out the bottle, downing a pill with a swig of the water Eridan gave him.  
"Actually, Karkles was going to take me to the movies this weekend too," Terezi said smiling.  
"I.. Uh, I thought you we're motherfuckin' blind?" Gamzee asked a little confused, but he instantly got his answer when Karkat gave him a pissed off, wide-eyed glare, intending there's other things to do at the movies, rather watch it.  
"She can fucking listen." Is all he said, though didn't intend, as he relaxed again, letting Terezi get close.  
"Shit then, why don't we all go?" Gamzee shrugged, turning his smile mostly to Tavros,  
"Actually, Nepeta, I do get paid on Friday, I believe we could attend if you'd like." Equius looked over at his little sister, he knew she'd most likely love to go, especially with this new ship obsession, and she wouldn't leave Eridan and Gamzee alone for the life of her.

Karkat seemed rather distressed about it, he'd personally rather just go with his girlfriend, but, OF FUCKING COURSE NOT.

Equius did take note of Gamzees' pills, and was about to ask about them, but lacked the chance.

* * *

Nepeta squealed.

"Yes! We should all go! We can show Gamzee around the mall and we can go to that Mexican place Tavros likes to eat!" She grinned at Tavros, but he just looked at Eridan, who seemed pretty pissed off at the idea.

"Actually, _I_ was going to show Gam around." He looked at Gamzee, pouting a little. "I was kind of hoping we could go alone..."

"That sounds like a perfect fucking plan." Karkat piped up in sarcasm, but Terezi elbowed him, cackling.  
"I think it would be fuuun, Karkles!" She said, and the shorter boy growled "fine" under his breath.

"Plus, Tavros _loves _scary movies!" Nepeta piped up. Tavros bit his lip.

"I, uh, actually...They kind of make me...uneasy." He muttered, but Nepeta ignored him, glaring at Eridan.

"Why do you want Gamzee all to yourself anyway? We're his friends too you know." She yelled, sticking her tongue out at him.

Eridan glared back, sticking his own tongue out in retaliation of the girls childish act.  
"Maybe I thought he'd enjoy a quiet day without a bunch of loud people hounding him." He shifted his glare to Tavros. "Or staring fucking holes into him."

Tavros blushed his eyes focusing on the ground. Nepeta growled, tugging on Equius' shirt.

"Equius, we're going! All of us! Whether or not Eridan wants us to!"

Tavros merely kept his eyes glued to the ground. This whole thing had kind of gotten out of hand, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at how Nepeta drug him into things like this. He wanted to hang out with Gamzee, but not if it meant having to fight with Eridan the whole day, or worse, watch Eridan flirt with him.

"Nep...Maybe we, uh, shouldn't..." He whispered, his eyes moving up to meet Gamzee's for a moment.

* * *

Gamzee sighed at the all the drama, he didn't like his friends arguing.. It didn't really make him want to go all that much anymore.. I mean, if everyone was going to just get upset about it, wheres the fun in it? Oh that's right, there isn't. Though, it did grab his attention slightly when Eridan was intent on going alone with him. He shook his head, and started to speak, but Gamzee was cut off again.. Each time he tried to talk, someone had cut him off, and he was trying to stay calm, but it was getting on his nerves, striking them harshly. He looked up at Tavros a few times, but ended up just turning his gaze to whomever was speaking.

Equius swallowed hard, he had the slight urge to demand her to cease acting like a child, or he wouldn't take her in the first place, but he held his tongue.  
"Nepeta, I know this interferes with your 'shipping wall' but now you're just acting foolish, please, at least pipe down." He patted her head lightly, starting to perspire, he tried to keep a bit quiet, but he knew others might have heard him.

"Look, calm down, motherfuckers, we're all going, or I'm not, simple, 'aight?" He raised his voice slightly, his expression serious, this -was- getting a little out of hand.  
"Plus, Erifag," Karkat started, "You can fucking have some alone moments with my _BESTFRIEND_ too, so get your goddamn panties out of a knot." He tore a bit at his cheeks, groaning. Terezi just rolled her eyes, laughing sharply.

* * *

Nepeta "hmphed" at her brother, frowning. He was supposed to be on her side. At Gamzee's words, everyone had managed to settle themselves, and Eridan sighed, throwing his hands up.

"Fine. Everyone can fucking come." He glared at Tavros, who just stared back.

"Oh...uh, actually I'd rather no-" Nepeta cut him off by throwing an arm around him.

"Deal! We'll all be there then!"

When the bell rang, Tavros quickly packed up what was left of his lunch and rolled off without waiting for anyone. Nepeta watched him leave and was about to call out to him, but thought better of it. Tavros was usually pretty friendly, so when he left like that she assumed he probably wanted to be alone. Instead she turned to Eridan, smirking a little.

"See you Saturday." She said, kind of liking the way it made the boy sort of puff in anger. She left for her class, followed closely by her brother.

"Hmph." Eridan said. He turned his attention back to Gamzee for a moment, sighing a little.  
"So much for our day together..." He grumbled.

* * *

Equius sighed, putting an arm around his sisters shoulders. "I am sorry I did not fully have your back, but you have to realize the problem was becoming worse than it should've been, and you still got what you wanted." He shrugged his shoulders lifting his tank top with a free hand to dot his forehead with. He usually did back Nepeta up, a hundred percent! Unless she got out of hand, then Equius had to set the line down.

* * *

Karkat was next to leave, dragging Terezi behind him. Oh well, it's not like they got chances to be alone a lot together anyways! Actually, they lived remotely close to eachother, so they did see eachother a lot, but Karkat had an overprotective father, so they usually hung out at her place, when his crabby dad would let them.  
Terezi turned around, waving.

* * *

That left Gamzee and Eridan alone, and he was a little hurt at his comment, but he would be a little more hurt when the other boy wouldn't leave Tavros alone, despite the small wheel-chaired student not doing anything.  
But, the clown rolled his shoulders, standing up and putting a hand out to help Eridan up. "Wellllllllllll, maybe you and me can just motherfucking hang out together after the movie? I mean, unless you got plans or something." Now that he remembered, his brother was gone most of the day on Saturday, and night.

* * *

Eridan took his hand, smiling as he stood up.

"That sounds good to me." He replied, his tone flirty. He released Gamzee's hand and checked the expensive looking watch on his wrist. "I suppose I'd better hurry to class. See you Saturday." He said, smirking at the taller boy before walking off.


	6. Horror Flicks and Lip Locks

Saturday came quickly. Too quickly in Tavros opinion. Nepeta had already called him four times today, and even though they weren't supposed to leave to go meet everyone for another hour, he was still trying to decide what shirt to wear. He felt a little foolish with all of his shirts thrown out on his bed, but he wanted to make sure he looked decent. He moved from his favourite green shirt to a white undershirt with a plaid, button up overshirt, wondering if the latter was too dressy for the occasion. His cell phone went off again and he grimaced, ignoring it. He knew it was Nepeta, reminding him yet again what time she and Equius would be over to get him. Or talking excitedly about her plans to get him and Gamzee alone together. Plans that Tavros wanted no part in. Ever since she had started this stupid ship, his life had been a living hell. He just wanted today to happen naturally. No schemes, no plots, just him and Gamzee...and everyone else, of course.

Tavros pulled the green t-shirt off, throwing it back into his closet. He'd wear his button up shirt. Even if it was a little more dressy, at least he thought he looked nice in it. He would be a little more confident in that, anyway.

* * *

Gamzee groaned, stirring in his sleep, the week had passed by rather fast, but it was rather nice. He didn't dislike any part of it whatsoever.. Well, that was a lie, things did get bad at a few times. He sat up in his bed, and looked at his intable, his little baggie was gone. Garrett, once again, took the last bit of marijuana he had. Whatever, he still had his pills. Gamzee straightened his spine a bit, popping a pill in his mouth, and swallowing. He looked over at the clock.. Fuck! he had 45 minutes to get there! And he needed a ride so someone could show him WHERE he was going. "Shit..." He moaned out,flipping the blanket off of him, and putting a pair of jeans on. Actually, a clean pair even. He groggily stood up, rubbing his eyes. He caught a glance of his reflection in the mirror by his closet... He felt so odd with out his make up..  
He shook his head, and went to his closet, randomly pulling a shirt, black one. It didn't matter what shirt he wore, he'd just grab his purple and black striped zipper hoodie to cover it anyways.. Gamzee didn't appriciate how tight his shirt was, but he felt better once the coat was on, not making it look as "obviously homosexual". Then, his phone rang, he picked up.  
"Hello?"  
"I'm gonna be there in ten, if you're not outside, I'm leaving without you." It was Karkat, and he hung up quickly after saying that. The student knew where the clown lived, having came over on Thursday, only for an hour or so though, and that just for some ;tutoring;. And the only reason Karkat had gotten his license was so he could drag Terezi to places. He didn't want to, but... For his blind girlfriend... Gamzee rushed into the rest room, quickly putting his make-up on, and even dragging a brush through his messy hair. And, viola, the drug addict was ready~

A few minutes passed, and Karkat held the horn on his car down for longer then needed. It was annoying, and hurt Gamzees ears, but he simply smiled, and got in the back seat of the car, remembering to grab a faygo which he drunk on the way.  
Terezi and him spoke for the duration of the car ride, where Karkat just struggled trying to not ram in to anyone out of anger. He did start to speed a few times though. Once they had gotten there, Gamzee instantly spotted the others in front of the mall, making him grin.

* * *

When they made it to the mall, Tavros kept adjusting his shirt, not really sure how far up the buttons should be...well, buttoned. Nepeta reached out and took his hand, grinning at him.

"Tav calm down. You look fine." She said. Tavros smiled back, blushing a little.

"Thanks...I just, uh, I guess I'm a little nervous..."

Nepeta opened her mouth the reply, but was cut off by a loud, angry sigh from behind them.

"Oh, you guys are already here." Eridan sighed, looking at them. Tavros tried to smile politely, Equius ignored him and Nepeta just glared.

"Where's Gam?" Eridan asked, and Nepeta shrugged.

"He's not here yet I guess. Or maybe he's hiding from you." She retorted. Tavros' smile fell.

"He's, uh, probably on his way..." Tavros replied, trying to avoid a fight already. He just wanted today to go smoothly. No fighting, no drama. He was relieved when Karkat finally pulled up and he saw the three of them get out of the car.

"Hi Gamzee!" He called, causing the others to turn and face him. "Hi Karkat, Terezi." He added, smiling at the other two.

"Gam." Eridan said, grinning and ignoring the other two. Nepeta and Equius greeted everyone and then she spoke up.

"What do you want to do first? Shop a little or go see if we can catch the movie? I hear it's supposed to be really scary!" She looked at Tavros, who looked a little aprehensive.

* * *

Gamzee said his hellos to everyone, waving a bit at Tavros. His pills, although kept him calm, made him rather tired. Though, he still kept his mind in tact enough to listen to everyone. When Nepeta asked, everyone had really agreed on the movie, not wanting to miss it. Plus, Equius had only so much money, he could afford his ticket, his sisters, and possibly her some candy, or a small thing of popcorn. And that would be most of his paycheck. Once they had all agreed and voted on the movie, Karkat lead them in the direction, hand in hand with Terezi. Gamzee, went behind Tavros, grabbing the handles, and pushing his wheel chair in the direction of his best friend.

Then they arrived there, Karkat pulled out his money, purchasing his and Terezis ticket first, and leaving to the lobby, behind him, the clown.  
"Two, please." He said, rolling his shoulders, and handing the woman the money. He looked down at Tavros, handing him one of the tickets. "A small motherfucking make-up gift for freaking you out," He had winked, putting the remainder of the cash in his hoodie pocket, meeting Karkat and Terezi in the lobby. Equius paid next, a little reluctant to bring his sister into an R-Rated movie though, despite her being 16 after he had paid, he went to the lobby, and took her to the snack line, "What do you want for a snack, Nepeta?" He asked, looking at the small boxes of candy they had.

Once everyone had gotten their tickets, and they were all ready, they went in to their movie. It was still playing the ads, so they were early, and given their large group, they had to, so they could get seats next eachother. Gamzee looked at the seats... How was Tavros supposed to get in? He had a slight idea. Without asking, he automatically lifted Tavros up, arms around his waist. "Equius, can you carry his motherfucking wheel chair?" He asked, holding the boy like a teddy bear, knowing this probably made him as uncomfortable as fuck.  
"I can." The second tallest, and eldest teenager nodded, folded up his wheel chair, and held it at his side. Then, they all picked out a seat, Near the middle, Eridan, Gamzee, Tavros, Nepeta, and Equius. Terezi and Karkat sat a row above them, not wanting to "be disturbed."

Gamzee set Tavros down next to him. "Sorry, bro'" He grinned, and then turned his gaze to Eridan for a moment, a softer smile. "Looks like the movies about to start," Gamzee was attempting to make everyone happy, but knew he probably couldnt do that..

* * *

Tavros knew he should've protested. Protested when Gamzee bought his ticket, make up gift or not, and definitely protested when arms encircled his waist and he was hoisted out of his chair like a sack of potatoes. He should've at least been embarrassed, but all he could really think about as he was carried up the stairs was the shallow thump of Gamzee's heart against his back. His face was on fire the entire trip up, of course, but that didn't make him any less sad when Gamzee's warmth against his back was replaced with a cold, hard theatre seat.  
Nepeta grinned at him, making a kissy face when the lights finally dimmed. Tavros laughed a little stealing some of the peanut butter M&M's Equius had bought her.

* * *

Eridan wasn't mad, just curious. He was known to date and dump several people, but not at once and not if they were already attached. He wasn't a bad guy, just a little...promiscuous. And from the way Gamzee had forked over the money for Tavros' ticket, and even /carried/ the pathetic boy up the steps it was starting to seem like operation "Get in Makara's Pants" was going to be a fruitless endevour. Better test the waters.  
"I hope this one is better than the prequel. It was just a bunch of teenagers running around half-naked while a killer chased them. Then, it turns out the killer was some nerdy guy from their school." Eridan muttered, flashing Gamzee his best flirty grin and bringing his hands up behind his head. "Hopefully this ones not as boring..."

* * *

Karkat already had lifted the arm of the seat, allowing Terezi to scoot closer and lean on his shoulder. She laughed a bit when he put his arm around her, but didn't argue. Where as the shorter boy simply flushed, trying to be romanticccc and fucking sweet for her. Terezi reached over his lap, grabbing the small cup of soda he'd bought.  
"...Seriously? Diet Pepsi?" She said in a rather hiss-like tone, another cackle.  
"Bring your own fucking money and you can get your choice."  
"Real romantic, Karkles." She set the soda back down, scooting back and resting her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Gamzee shrugged slightly, listening to Eridan. "Most motherfucking horror movies are. S'all the same now, throw a few shirtless girls in, with a bit of blood and, BAM, you got a motherfucking horror movie." He rolled his eyes, but tilted his head a bit and smiled after. He wasn't that negative about horror movies, actually, Garrett and him were very big on them. "Sure we'll have a pretty interesting time though." He smirked at Eridan, but hushed himself up when the opening for the movie came up, beginning. The tall teenager snuck a small glance at Tavros, hoping he hadn't scared the fuck out of him.. But, seriously, how the hell was he supposed to get up? Whatever, he hadn't argued, so... He couldn't be too distressed over it, right?

* * *

Equius saw his sister make the silly cute little faces at Tavros, and he understood them being directed toward her new ship 'Pb&j', if she did that at any other time, and he was unaware that it wasn't directed to the wheelchaired boy, Equius probably would become very, very angry. Once the movie actually started, he lifted his broken sunglasses up, hanging them on his shirt.

* * *

Eridan shifted a little in his seat, moving his body closer to Gamzee in a subtle way and letting his arm fall across the back of Gamzee's chair. Gamzee wasn't his first guy, not by a long shot, but he was by far the most hard to read person he'd gone after. And considering he was Eridan Ampora, that was saying something. Still, it would pay off in the end if he could add this tall, lanky notch to his belt.

* * *

Tavros only half focused on the beginning of the movie, his eyes repeatedly darting to the side to take in Gamzee's face or watch Eridan's sneaky tactics. Nepeta had given him a pep talk the entire drive over, reminding him that if Eridan was going to go for the gold he should too. Tavros just wish he knew what that meant. Things like this should really come with a rule book. When he saw Eridan's arm snake around Gamzee's shoulders, Tavros wished for that rule book even harder.  
All his wishing did was distract him from the movie though. Long enough for the teenage girls blood-curdling scream to actually make him jump, squeak a little and immediately try to bury his head under the nearest thing. He didn't notice until after his face was mostly squished into it that the thing happened to be Gamzee's shoulder.

* * *

Gamzee didn't really react to Eridan putting his arm around him, he was too distracted with the movie already. It was actually turning out to be pretty good. Though, once he got a bit closer, Gamzee did lift his shoulders, smiling at him for a moment, he went back to watching the movie, although it was a little hard to see given his bad eye sight, but he still got most of it.

When the first screaming scene came up, causing a gasping, then laughing-her-ass-off Terezi, and Tavros, whom had let out a small sound, and nuzzled close to Gamzee.  
Karkat automatically shooshed everyone, along with a few other stangers, but what could he really say? Soon he'd be the type of guy that everyone hated seeing at a movie. Only making out, not even watching the movie. Pathetic... The clown, however, couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "It's okay, Tavbro.." He sighed out, still plastered with a toothy grin, using a hand to hold the smaller boys, his fingers, though not laced with his, overlapped, and squeezed. Though, after a few moments of that, his hand loosened when Gamzee began getting interested in the movie again.

* * *

Once Gamzee's hand had gone slack and Tavros regained his sanity, he gently pulled out of the older boys grip, trying to drown his embarassment with more of Nepeta's candy. What was he? Five? He couldn't even watch a scary movie without freaking out? He resolved not to do that again, even if the feeling of Gamzee's hand on his was probably one of the nicest feelings ever. He settled back into his seat, eyes fixed to the screen in determination. The movie actually was really interesting, and any time something scary happened, Tavros just shut his eyes and thought back to Gamzee's hand on his. He was actually starting to relax.

Just in time for the two figures behind him to erupt in soft kissing noises and not-so-innocent cackles. Tavros felt his face heat up and heard Nepeta giggle beside him.

* * *

Eridan was pleased to see that Tavros had corrected himself, pulling his hand away from Gam and curling in on himself as he should. The movie wasn't bad, a little more exciting than the one before, they had definitely gotten a new writer for this one, but it was still a cliche slasher flick. Eridan could already count on one hand how many times the girls in the movie had gotten their shirts cut open. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate good cleavage shots, he just had something else in mind.

And from the sounds behind him, so did Karkat. Eridan didn't blame him, this was he and Terezi's date after all. Speaking of dates...  
"Sounds like they don't think this one is any better than the prequel." He whispers to Gamzee, his tone playful as he laughs a little.

* * *

Equius became rather uncomfortable listening to Karkat and Terezi, and had the urge to look over them, and hint that they could possibly cease what they were doing, given to the fact they were in PUBLIC. He shook his head, and began watching the movie again, he didn't find it very interesting, and not worth his money, but, Nepeta seemed to be enjoying it.. And that's what he was aiming for.

Gamzee had noticed when Tavros moved his hand. He was becoming quite convinced that he was straight, and probably not comfortable with him doing things like that. That wasn't a bad thing, people liked whom they liked, the clown just had to remember that he wasn't interested in boys, and not to get too touchy, or send more pictures of guys dicks.

He took a sip of his cherry faygo, trying to ignore his bestfriend and Terezi kissing. In all honesty, if he was given the option, Gamzee would probably be having sloppy makeouts with someone as well. He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to become refocused with the movie, sipping Faygo, but he'd began coughing a bit at Eridans comment, a few small laughs. It was challenging not to smear his make up, "Nothing compares to a motherfucking make out session." He pointed out in a hushed tone, "Not even hack 'n slash movies."

* * *

Tavros put his face in his hands and tried to block out the sounds. He didn't want to admit to the small twinge of jealousy he felt towards Karkat. It must be nice to have someone to kiss anytime. When Gamzee started coughing, Tavros looked up at him in worry, but went back to hiding his face at the taller boys words. Was he the only one who'd never kissed anyone before? Even Nepeta had once had a boyfriend, albeit for only a week, but Tavros knew that they'd at least kissed before Equius had scared him off. Even Equius had probably kissed someone, he wasn't bad looking after all and a lot of the girls at school really liked him. Eridan had kissed plenty of people, that was a fact. Gamzee was probably really popular where he used to live, and from the way he was talking Tavros was sure he had first hand experience to back up his words.  
Suddenly, in the middle of the crowded theater, Tavros felt incredibly lonely.

* * *

Eridan wasn't 100% sure if he should read that as an invitation or not. Gamzee didn't seem like the type to add innuendo to things, but then, Eridan added an innuendo to things all on his own.  
"Believe me, I know. I'm a little jealous of shorty, kind of wish I could be lip locked with someone right now. This movie isn't going as well as I'd hoped." He muttered, flashing Gamzee a smile.

Tavros' breathing hitched a little at Eridan's flirty words. Please no. Please please no. He was trapped, it wasn't like he could just get up and walk out if they...but they wouldn't, right? Gamzee looked interested in the movie earlier, even if his eyes were on Eridan now. Gamzee would just go back to watching the movie...please. Please go back to watching the movie.

* * *

Equius, not all that interested in the movie, had mostly been paying attention to his friends, and what they were doing. Well, aside from Terezi and Karkat, whom he'd snuck a glance at, and saw them geting a little touchy. Wasn't this against the rules, or something? He looked at his little sister, whom had jumped a few times, but still was going threw her candy pretty fast. The one point where Equius was giving the movie his complete devoted attention for a few minutes, he'd even jumped at one part, happy no one saw. That's when he stopped paying attention again. He looked at Tavros, who just seemed as timid and concerned as ever, sneaking glances at the arrogant clown, whom was talking to Eridan, listening to him flirt, and, he knew that'd bother the two younger students.

Equius leaned back, tapping on Karkats knee, who at first swatted his hand away, but when he persisted, Karkat finally pulled back, and turned around to Equius.  
"What the fuck?"  
"Nepeta and I are finished with our popcorn. I was curious if you'd like to toss it at Eridan, being the immature child you are, that or you can listen to Makara and him... Kiss." He reached the small thing of half-eaten popcorn to Karkat, whom took it, still scowling a bit.

* * *

Gamzee grinned, moving slightly closer to Eridan, without actually moving the arm of the chair up. Is there a reason they shouldn't? Although Gamzee was enjoying this movie, as said, sloppy makeouts beat it tenfold. "Same," He said quietly,

Karkat, smiling for once, allowed the scene between Gamzee and Eridan unfold slightly more, before starting to toss a small piece into the hipsters hair. He couldn't rightfully tell them not to anything, considering him and Terezi had gotten rather far, but there was nothing wrong with this. Not that he cared anyways. The girl snickered, as he threw a few pieces.

* * *

Gamzee leaned back, grinning foolishly, looking at Karkat. "Thanks, my bestfriend." Not that he really minded, he thought it was kind of funny, in all honesty. Terezi cackled lightly, and took another piece of popcorn, slanting forward a bit, she popped a piece in Gamzees mouth.  
"Shhh! The movie is almost over." She pointed out, moving back to Karkat.

The clown simply laughed, putting it in his mouth rather stuffing it in like she'd tried to do. He leaned back, attempting to watch the movie again.

* * *

Eridan grumbled a little at the interruption, especially if that look in Makara's eye had meant what he hoped it had. But whatever, there was plenty of time for things like that later. He did his best to follow Gamzee's example and laugh it off, leaning over to pick a piece of the popcorn out of Gamzee's hair and pop it in his mouth. The ice was broken now at least, and he knew Gamzee was at least /interested/ and had no qualms. He laid his head on the taller boys shoulder, sighing a little as he watched the end of the movie.

* * *

Crisis averted. Tavros was too busy burying his head in his hands to figure out exactly how, but the point was he wasn't watching the guy he had feelings for slobbering all over that hipster jerk. Nepeta put a hand on his shoulder and grinned at him, pointing to the screen and pantomiming being scared, then pointing to Gamzee. It took Tavros a minute to figure out what Nepeta was trying to instruct him to do, but once it dawned on him he shook his head feverishly. No way was he going to fake being scared just so he could snuggle up to Gamzee again. The first time had been embarrassing enough and besides the movie was almost over so nothing else scary was even going to hap-  
The loud shriek followed by the close up of the killers face was so sudden that Tavros yelled "Oh shit!" before his hands were covering his face again and he was squished into Nepeta's arm.

"You nerd, you went the wrong way!" she laughed, but Tavros just shook his head.

"I-I wasn't trying to...It just, uh, caught me off guard." He stuttered. After his outburst, all eyes were on him now and he wished he could just shrink down to invisible. He heard Eridan laugh and his heart sank.

* * *

"Poor kid is scared of everything." Eridan mused, eyeing Tavros from his perch on Gamzee's shoulder. "He and Nepeta are cute together though."  
He added the last part almost as an afterthought. If Gamzee had any sort of feelings for the little spaz, it was time Eridan helped push them out of the older boys mind

* * *

Gamzee smiled at Eridan, and put an arm around him for once- for the rest of the movie. Though the idea of making out and kissing had flown out the window after the interruption, that was okay. Last they'd talked about it, he was still supposed to come over and visit after the movie. Which he found himself lost in again.  
That was until Tavros yelled out, moving close to Nepeta. Gamzee found it extremely adorable, and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He hadn't heard him and Nepeta speaking, but he did hear Eridan laugh, the hipster got a playful nudge for that. "Yeah.." He muttered, not really registering what Eridan had said.

* * *

Equius sighed a bit at Tavros snuggling close to his step sister. A disapproving look, twisting in to his features, almost a "Stay-The-Hell-Away-From-Her" type of look, despite him knowing it was out of fear. He couldn't help but reminiscence back to Nepetas first boyfriend, it was pathetic. They hadn't known each other for all that long, but still ended up dating. Equius, acting like a father figure to her, since her dad, his stepfather, had not done that all too well, and basically **CELEBRATED** the fact she'd dated such an idiotic brat, had stepped in, and... Might have scared him off.

* * *

The end of the movie was coming, and Gamzee, along with the others, was becoming untensed, and relaxed, it seemed to be a cliche, "happy" ending. As happy as can be with your love interest being the only survivor along with yourself, your friends being brutally murdered whilst having sex, and the killer getting away scott free because he apparently killed every useful cop in town. Because, that, is how you make a horror movie. The final few seconds was one last screamer with the killers face shown in font of decapitated bodies, before quickly cutting to the credits. Karkat had even jumped at that, biting Terezis lip by accident.  
"Karkles!" She couldn't help but still laugh.  
"N-Not my fucking fault." He rolled his eyes, but stood up once the credits started, wanting to get out before another scene popped up.  
Gamzee had not liked it all that much himself, his hand automatically jerked to Tavross, holding for a moment.  
"Sorry, bro. I guess that was a little too intense or some shit." He couldn't help but chuckle as he too stood up. Arm loosening around Eridan, he bent over, picking up Tavros again, "Hope you don't mind this." Gamzee said a little too late, already having his arms around his back, holding him close like a teddy bear.

Equius had grabbed Tavros's wheel chair, holding it by his side again, making his way down, followed by the others. Once they made it down, Gamzee set Tav in his chair, an apologetic smile on his face. But quickly after went side by side with Eridan.  
"Well that was a pretty bitchtits time." He grinned, walking out of the lobby with everyone. "I liked the movie."  
"What are we going to do now?" Equius asked, next to his sister, mostly asking HER rather anyone else, but he didn't mind others input.


	7. Jerkface

**~*~ Sorry it's a little short, and, the next chapter MIGHT be out on Sunday, the ****_other author_**** I do this with has been on hiatus with our RP for over a month, but, "lucky" for you, she said she'd be able to RP on Sunday, sooo... Yeah! Last chapter-spam for a bit. Also. Shh. If Roxy seems OOC it's because originally she wasn't supposed to BE Roxy, she was another original character (Named Kelsie) like Garrett, but I thought they were kind of alike, and I.. Kind of ship Gam/Rox, so... Shh... 3 Please Review or.. Follow. Follows make my heart flutter, reviews scare me when I see them in my email, I get nervous. Anyways. Sorry about the long Authors Note. ~*~**

* * *

Tavros shook his head when Gamzee said he hoped he didn't mind. Getting picked up and carried by someone you have a crush on? No, he didn't mind that at all. He wish he had the nerve to actually tell Gamzee that, but even when the arms around him disappeared and he was back in his chair, Tavros remained silent. When Gamzee left him to walk by Eridan, his face fell a little. Nepeta came to take hold of the handles and push him into the lobby, bouncing the whole way.

"Shopping!" Nepeta squealed, looking to Terezi. The other girl laughed nodding but Eridan piped up.

"Maybe we could go get some fuckin' food first? Didn't you say there was a place around here you like, Tav?" His deep, almost purple eyes were situated on the younger boy and Tavros wrung his hands together nervously.

"There's, uh, a really good Mexican place further in the mall but...uh, not everyone likes Mexican food so we can, just, uh, g-go somewhere else...if...you guys...want." His sentence trailed off and Eridan rolled his eyes.

"That doesn't really tell us anything Tav. Where is this place, exactly?" He questioned, his tone not angry or rude, but still not quite polite. Nepeta frowned from behind her wheelchaired friend.

"He was just saying we don't have to go if you don't want to. Jeez Eridan, stop being such a jerkface." She bristled and Eridan looked caught off-guard.

"A...A what? What did you call me!?"

Tavros cleared his throat, his eyes on Gamzee for a moment before he spoke. "C'mon you guys, don't, uh, fight. Nep knows where it is, just follow her." He said with a small smile. He remembered the courtyard fight between his best friend and Eridan and how embarrassing it had been. Not to mention how uncomfortable Gamzee had looked. Obviously, it would be a good idea to keep Nepeta calm.

She brightened instantly, pushing Tavros ahead of her as she headed towards the restaurant.  
"Follow me fussypants." She said to Eridan as she passed. The boy glowered, but remained silent as everyone walked behind the girl.

The restaurant was huge, but really happy and cozy. There were murals painted on the walls with bright colours, and even mariachi music playing in the background. Tavros' face brightened as soon as they entered and Nepeta yelled "Hola!" to the waitress waiting to seat their group. Obviously she and Tavros came here a lot.

Once everyone was seated and had ordered their drinks, they looked over the menu's.

"I can't pronounce half of this stuff..." Eridan muttered, flipping back and forth between the pages. "And there's no descriptions of what you're ordering. What the hell is a 'Sopaipillas'?" Eridan mangled the word, not really sure how to pronounce it. Tavros laughed.

"They're fried pastries with honey and cinnamon. You're looking at deserts Eridan." He said.

"How do you even know all this?" Eridan replied, flipping back over to what he hoped was the main course part of the menu.

"My, uh, my family makes a lot of this stuff...I grew up with it." Tavros returned, shyly. Nepeta giggled, leaning over to squish her cheek to Tavros and ruffle his mohawk.

"It's okay snootypants. Tavros had to help me with the menu at first too. Just ask him if you need anything translated."

Eridan growled at the nickname, but went back to eyeing the menu tentatively.

* * *

Gamzee started chewing on his lip slightly when they began arguing, but was slightly happy when Eridan didn't get too out of hand. He really saw to that. "I think it sounds pretty motherfucking good." Is the only real input the clown gave on getting food.  
Karkat, on the other hand, just ranted and raved about how Terezi wanted to go shopping, eat out, and fucking see a movie. He didn't have that much money already, but he'd brought enough to keep the girl happy.

Once they got there, Terezi was grinning, noting on the warm, savory aroma. Karkat thought of it as more stuffy and cramped. He didn't like it, but he was hungry, so he would settle.

Equius had only come here a few times with Tavros and Nepeta, but he usually was at work when they'd come here. He wasn't the biggest fan of mexican food anyways, though when offered, he didn't decline.

Once they sat down, it was close to the same seats they'd had picked at the cinema. Nepeta next to her brother and best friend, Gamzee next to both boys whom had a crush on him, Terezi next to Eridan and her boyfriend, whom she kept jabbing with a fork.  
"Terezi, quit it." Karkats eye twitched as he tried to stay concentrated on his menu. "Fucking stop." She didn't until the waitress came over, ready to take drink orders.

When finding out they didn't have faygo, Gamzee settled for some Mtn Dew, which he did have on a few occasions, but never really was a fan of. His eyes trailed around the menu, trying to translate best he could himself, and although they were there to get actual food, the idea of a churro with raspberry filling sounded extremely good, maybe he'd get that and a meat taco.

Karkat had no idea what he was ordering, he had to ask Tavros a few of the items, but over all he and Terezi had decided to share some tamales together. It was cheap, and he knew it was something he could stomach. When Karkat was smaller, before Terezi had moved near him, there was a woman who came by, selling them fresh every weekend. And if his dad had enough money, they'd get a few.

"That's pretty neat, Tavbro." Gamzee grinned folding his menu back up and setting it down. When he still lived with his parents, his mom made a lot of cultured food. Mostly European things. Now it was whatever was on sale at Wal-Mart that took 10 minutes or less to cook. Gamzees smile faded for a moment. He missed family dinners. Him and Garrett hadn't even eaten together since they first moved in, and they spent that whole night watching scary movies.

His gaze went to Tavros and Nepeta, and it made him smile how close they were, how Nepeta squeezed up against him. Maybe they were an item? It seemed Equius wouldn't approve if they were, so they were just quiet about it? That made sense. The two of them seemed rather close, and it was cute. His phone buzzed in his pocket, as he pulled it out. It was a picture message from an old friend.

?: *picture sent*  
?: i misssssssss u, game 333  
?: gamzee*****

He cocked an eyebrow, silently opening the picture, the name rendered familiar, and... The picture did too.  
His eyes widened as he let out a rather sharp noise, hiding his phone. Gamzee felt his cheeks and ears get hot. That was Roxy. Obviously Roxy with widespread legs and lacking panties.

"What is it?" Terezi inquired, index finger against her lip.  
"A crazy fucking ex. If you could call her that." He muttered some more unpleasantries.  
"Huh? What'd she do?"

Gamzee didn't hear her at first, he was too busy texting.  
TC: YoU'rE mOtHeRfUckInG iNsAnE sIsTeR.  
TC: cAnT SaY I mIsS yOu.  
TC: Or cReEpY PiCtUrEs.  
?: not creeyp. : ( u usde 2 send them 2.  
?: used*** FUCK  
TC: OnCe.  
?: : pppp

Gamzee shook his head, stuffing the phone in his pocket and talking to his friends.

* * *

Eridan smirked.  
"I think we've all had a few crazy ex's." He said, laughing a little. Karkat frowned.  
"Do crazy fucking girlfriends count if you haven't broken up with them?" He asked through gritted teeth as Terezi cackled and pressed her nose against his cheek.

Nepeta took a sip of her cherry coke and giggled. "Equius takes care of any ex's that might try to bother me." She said, giving her brother a sweet smile before turning to Tavros.  
"And Tav's pretty lucky since he doesn't really have to worry about that sort of thing."

Her face turned apologetic after the words tumbled out of her mouth and Tavros' face lit up.

"Oh...You've never had an ex, have you?" Eridan asked, his tone even but a large smirk on his face. Tavros sighed, a hand coming up to run nervously through his mohawk.

"I...uh, I just haven't...really...thought about, uhm, dating..." Tavros muttered. He glanced nervously toward Nepeta, who looked like she could kill herself. She mouthed the word 'sorry' but Tavros merely shrugged, wishing the food would arrive or someone would change the subject. To his surprise, it was Eridan that came to his rescue.

"So what'd your ex say? Don't tell me she's still stalking you even after you moved." He said to Gamzee, general curiosity in his voice. He already had to compete with awkward on wheels over there, he didn't want competition with an ex-flame also.

* * *

Equius had a simper expression, giving his sister a half-hug for a moment. It was true. She made it sound a bit better than it was though, he'd deal with a bit more then just 'exes'. In all honesty, he was surprised she didn't hate him for it, chasing off any boys that tried to get close to her, aside from Nitram. But he was almost Equius's friend as well.  
Almost.

* * *

Now that he had the idea that him and Nepeta were a pair, Gamzee couldn't help but feel like he was just lying, and it made him grin like an idiot. But, if he was wrong, Tavros was still adorable, not having dated anyone. The train of thoughts he had went off the tracks when Eridan asked what she had done. He laughed a bit nervously, pulling out his phone, and opening the picture, showing it to Eridan.  
"What is it?" Karkat asked, ready to lean over the table. But, Gamzee lifted the phone, showing him. Karkats eyes just widened, pushing the phone away. "Not sure if this affects my appetite." He grunted, sipping his diet pepsi.

Equius had snuck a glance at the picture, and edged Nepeta away from the phone so she couldn't catch a small look at it either. That was disgusting.  
"Why is it you decided to date her?"  
"She's a motherfucking insane sister. I mean, at first, Roxy was kind of cute, y'know a little clingy, but it was really goddamn cute. Then one day she gets off her thinker, and tries to get pregnant, we break it off, and she still all up and obsesses with me." He shook his head, biting his lip and sticking the phone in his pocket. Gamzee stretched a bit, but before the conversation could go much further, their food arrived.

* * *

Eridan laughed at the picture and Karkat's comments, shaking his head a little.

"Women are crazy. No offense ladies, " he added from the look Nepeta and Terezi gave him, "but there's a reason I try to stay away from them lately."

Tavros had seen a glimpse of the picture, and that was all he really wanted to see. Gamzee had already sent him a picture of a random girls...area. He didn't need to see it again. He was almost inclined to agree with Eridan, except, well, he didn't really have the experience to back it up. Having never dated anyone, it was hard for him to pick one gender over the other. Tavros wasn't sure about the whole "sexuality" issue, all he really knew was...If Gamzee were a girl, he'd probably still like him. Er, her. Whatever.

He frowned when Gamzee called the girl 'cute', a little jealous that she had probably seen Gamzee in intimate ways that Tav could only dream about. Not that he did. Dream about them, that is. But Gamzee had a whole other life back wherever he had moved from. Tavros muttered,  
"Sorry you have to put up with that..." before stuffing his mouth full of his encarnata.

Nepeta nodded sympathetically.  
"Who tries to trap someone like that? She sounds way crazy. Don't worry about her Gamzee, there are plenty of sweet people around here you can date that won't turn out to be insane!" She smiled at Tavros, who just kept his eyes glued on his plate.

"Exactly." Eridan added. He dug into the chicken quesadilla he'd ordered, making a pleased sound after his first bite.  
"This is actually quite good." He muttered, looking at Tavros who smiled a little proudly.

"Told you." Was all the younger boy said.

* * *

Gamzee shrugged slightly, deleting the picture from his phone. "I don't know, my first girlfriend was sweeter, like.. A little high and mighty, but she was cool. My only boyfriend.. God, surprised I still count him, what'd we date, like, a week?" He cut himself off, "Sorry, don't mean to vent about that stuff you all."  
"No, no, I enjoy eating my goddamn food and listening about your love life. Maybe we could get some icecream and cheap chick-flicks well were at it?" Karkat rolled his eyes, Terezi hit him on the arm for being rude, but cackled.  
Gamzee couldn't help but add a small laugh, looking up at the others. When Tavros made his comment, He simply gave him a smirk, listening to Nepeta. He bit his bottom lip for a moment, before taking a bit of his food.  
"Eh, no need to all up and rush things you know, Nepsis?" He had a few more comments, like how Garrett was trying to make him pay attention on other things rather getting people in his pants. Or how he'd block Roxys number later, but he kept them to himself, eating his cinnamon-covered snack. It was delicious, but not wanting to smear his make-up badly, he had to lift it up slightly.

This created a slightly inappropriate picture to those with an immature mind. Karkat, being one of those people, shook his head, unwrapping another tamale.

* * *

Tavros blushed at the sight, his mind bordering on immature, but he merely concentrated on the plate before him and tried to block it out. This food was so interesting. His plate was so interesting. Gamzee eating something suggestively hadn't happened, there was no need to think about that.

Eridan merely smirked, leaning over to wipe a little of the food carefully from the side of Gamzee's lip.  
"Careful with your makeup." He added, licking his finger clean. As much as he'd prefer to see the taller boy without his face painted up, Gamzee obviously wasn't ready to show that side off yet.

Nepeta pouted.  
"I'm not saying you have to date the _/first person that comes along/_." She said, eying Eridan angrily. "I'm just saying, I'm sure no one here will threaten pregnancy and stalk you."

"Boys can't even get pregnant." Tavros muttered distractedly, obviously not intending for it to be heard by everyone. His eyes slowly moved up from the plate and he laughed a little nervously. "Just, uh, kidding...I was just...I didn't mean you should date a...boy, I mean...It's okay if you, uh, do...I was just..." He sort of trailed off, his face a brilliant pink from his nose all the way to the tips of his ears.

Nepeta shook her head and jumped in to save her friend, as best as she could anyway.

"SO." She started, trying to take everyone's attention of Tavros' awkward statement. "I was thinking after we leave here we could go look around at some of the clothing stores! Tav and Equius like bookstores, so we could go there too! Where do you guys want to go?"

* * *

Gamzee's thick make up hid the small red tinge that crossed his cheeks when Eridan touched his lips. His fang dug in to the inside of his bottom lip. So.. He felt pretty much like a homosexual at the moment. Which was absolutely fine, but, he also felt a little awkward too, flirting with others around. Gamzee just smiled, "Yeah, I... Motherfucking should do that.." He groaned, taking a drink of his beverage. Flirting, though fun, was kind of odd when you weren't sure if you liked the other person, and, again, with everyone watching.

Equius hit Nepeta lightly on the shoulder. "Be nice," He tilted his head forward a bit, before she could reply, Gamzee piped in. "Yeah, I think she's a one of a kind, though. Gotta' love that miracle." He swallowed the last bit of his snack, but laughed at Tavros's comment, giving him a toothy grin. That was a valid point. He was going to make a comment about the two of them, and him intending something, but Nepeta had interrupted.

Equius swallowed hard, Nepeta was burning through his paycheck fast. Luckily she'd only gotten a small meal, and this place was surprisingly cheap.  
"I suppose, perhaps we can each go shopping for awhile..." That was the one time Tavros and Equius were ever alone together, at the bookstore. And there, it was different between them. They had a lot of similar interests in books, so Equius never minded the time. Karkat pulled out his flip-phone, checking the time.  
"It's fucking five.. I have to go soon." He grunted, sticking it back in his pocket.  
"Can we go shopping for a litttttttttttle while, Karkles?"  
"Fine. No spending three hours in one store though."  
"No complaining the whole time then!"  
"Don't push it, goddammit." He folded his arms, rolling his eyes. Terezi stuck herr tongue out at him, finishing up her food, making a "mmm" sound.

Gamzee didn't really care, he didn't have all that much money to use, but he didn't mind hanging out with the others a little more. Especially since him and Eridan were hanging out later.. He was fine with whatever


	8. Bunnies and Fish

**~*~Secretly I lied, Tease, the other author whom I'm calling that till I am told to call her different, replied today, and I thought it was a good end to a chapter. So, God knows when we're doing another chapter. ~*~  
~~**~~ P.S. I wanted to put this is Chapter One, but I didn't so, guys, if you somehow get here, and you're thinking_ 'What the hell is this? It's unoriginal, and ooc, and omg wow it just sucks.' _Keep in mind, this wasn't made for YOU. This is a roleplay between Tease and I, and I decided to share it, because it's lengthy for an RP, and it's prett****y cute and fluffy. I know I haven't seen anybody that rude yet, but nevertheless, I want to thank all you nice people who are following/favouriting/reviewing, even if it's not THAT much, I guess it's more than some? PLUS, I don't think her and I will quit this.. Hopefully.~~**~~**

Everyone paid for their meal, Eridan offering to pick up Gamzee's tab, and headed out into the large mall. Terezi grabbed Karkat's hand, pulling him toward and clothing store and he swore loudly. He yelled that he'd catch up to the rest of them later he guessed since Terezi was hell fucking bent on going in this direction. Nepeta giggled.

"They probably just wanted some time alone together. We did kind of intrude on their date after all." She said, and Tavros grinned.

"I need to get fish food while I'm out." Eridan mused, grabbing Gamzee by the arm. "Why don't you come with me to the pet store Gam?"

Nepeta frowned, pushing Tavros forward in his chair a little.

"Tav, didn't you need something from there too?" She asked, as innocently as she could. Tavros just blushed, staring back and forth between the heated looks she and Eridan exchanged.

"I, uh, n-no I don't think-" He started, but Nepeta shot him an angry glare.

"Yeah you did. Didn't you say one time that you wanted a bunny? They've got all kinds there, you should go see." She said through grit teeth, and before he could protest, he found himself rolling along beside Gamzee and Eridan towards A&H Pets.

Eridan glared at him the entire walk, muttering under his breath. Great. Anytime he tried to get any time alone with Gamzee, the little reject had to tag along and spoil it.

"How long have you even wanted a bunny?!" Eridan snapped, doing his best to keep his voice as even as possible. Tavros shrugged, and smiled sheepishly.

"I dunno. A little while I guess. They're really cute. I just...I love all animals, but I guess rabbits are my favourite." He added, blushing a little. Eridan rolled his eyes behind his glasses.

When they'd finally made it to the pet shop Eridan had shoo'd Tavros off toward the rabbits while he led Gamzee over to the fish. He paused, staring at the many tanks and fish on display, smiling genuinely and serenely.

"I just love fish. They're so beautiful and majestic. I could sit and watch them all day." He mused, and carefully slipped his hand into Gamzee's.

* * *

Karkat and Terezi went to the clothing store, despite how reluctant the boy was, he was happy to be alone with his girlfriend. Finally. At first, he was getting a slight idea of some make-outs in a dressing room, or something. But they were quickly with drawed when Terezi began feeling the material of the shirts, rubbing them versus her face.  
"Terezi... Terezi, the fuck?" Karkat asked, poking at her. "  
"This one feels soft, I like the teal, but I can't tell how much is, it's too blurry." She nuzzled her face close again, cackling slightly. The boy grunted, lifting the tag of the shirt, and sighing.  
"I'll buy it..." He rolled his eyes, pulling the medium sleeved, boatneck top shirt off the rack.  
"Awwww! Thank you, Karkleeeees!" She mused, gripping him in a hug. Karkat merely groaned, and watched as she went back to looking cuddling different clothes. The boy walked up to the counter, pulling out his wallet, when something shiny caught his eye. A wallet chain. Not thoughts, Karkat grabbed it instantly, setting it by his other item. Maybe Terezi couldn't steal his wallet as easy.

Gamzee bit his lip, a little worried about them fighting in the store. Equius simply placed a hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her, but gave up. The clown nodded. "Uh, sure, mean, we can all go. I just like looking at the tiny little motherfucking animals, they're all so goddamn miraculous." He smiled, walking side by side with Eridan, and Tavros as well, he couldn't help but find it amusing how nervous the wheel-chaired boy got. It was adorable.

Once they got there, Gamzee quickly left slightly off in his own direction. "I'm gonna go look over here." He pointed his thumb back as he turned around, walking by the puppies and kittens behind cages, tapping them and scrunching his finger, petting their noses. His phone started ringing, once again.

?: Hey, where are you?  
TC: ShOpPiNg.  
?: With WHAT money?  
TC: I hAvE mOnEy, BuT i'M nOt ReAlLY sHoPpInG sHoPpInG...  
?: Window shopping.  
TC: hOnK.  
TC: oH aLsO, RoXy Is HaSsLiNg Me AgAiN, GaRrRrRrRrReTt. : o (  
?: Block her number.  
?: Shit, got an appointment to do.  
?: God fuck dammit shit.  
?: Tail bone tattoo on a guy.  
?: NOT EVEN GAYS DO THAT.  
?: Seriously.  
TC: NiCe.

Gamzee grinned, but also was a little confused. What type of guy did get that area tattooed? Oh, whatever. He stuck his phone back in his pocket, his attention back to the animals.

* * *

Tavros looked around the store, muttering to himself a little when Eridan drug Gamzee off with him. Oh well, it didn't really matter. He didn't understand why Nepeta made him come with those two anyway, it wasn't like he actually had a chance with Gamzee. He'd been watching him and Eridan get along more all through the day and honestly, it made him feel like maybe he should've stayed home.

He rolled over to where the rabbits were and got a clerk to hand him a small gray one. The bunny sat in his lap, calm and docile, just letting Tavros pet it. He smiled, they really were so cute. He looked at the price, it really wasn't that much, but his parents would probably kill him if he came home with an animal. He'd get one eventually though.

* * *

Gamzee, after a few moments of simply looking at the cute smaller animals, proceeded to find Eridan, looking at the fish, and assorment of food for them. The clown, not seeing Nepeta, Equius, or Tavros followed up to him, not much being said as he began tapping on the glass lightly, a content grin.  
When Eridan spoke though, it caught him slightly off guard, but his smile grew, a conversation about how amazing things are? OF COURSE! Gamzee listened, eyes flowing back to the tank.  
"Yeah..." He mused, his ear-to-ear grin now a comfortable smirk. "It's motherfucking miraculous, y'know? Just... Yeah, I could too.." A small laugh escaped at the fact he'd become distracted to the point where his word choice was lazy.

Eridan didn't seem to mind though, his ineptness, instead, he took Gamzees hand, lacing fingers. In all honesty, he didn't mind it, Gamzee actually liked it. And Eridan, had really silk like hands. He didn't reply verbally, rather, just looked at Eridan for a moment, the same smile on his face.

Terezi adored her new shirt, and would not let go of Karkat after he bought. She would repeadetly announce in a large voice that she had the best boyfriend ever, followed by cackling. This would cause Karkat to blush and groan.  
"Do you fucking remember where Eridan said him and Gamzee would be at?" He asked, turning his head to look at Terezi, who was leaned on him, despite being a good few inches taller. Where Karkat was a mere 5'7", Terezi reached 5'9", plus heels she would wear to piss him off.  
"Oh? You're not worried about Tav? Or Nep and Equius?"  
"Nepeta wouldn't allow Eridan and Gamzee alone for two goddamn seconds, I assure you they're all in the same shop. "  
"Fineeeee. I think Eridan mentioned going to A&H petstore, or what's it called?" She shrugged a bit, but Karkat didn't respond, he just dragged her off, as they went looking for the others.

Of course, the boy was right. He first spotted Gamzee and Eridan holding hands, and decided not to interupt them. When they reached Nepeta and Equius, they were on the other side of the shop.  
"Gamzee and Eridan are holding hands. Might as well fucking inform you, because being honest, asshats, you're obsession really is entertaining." Karkat rolled his eyes, only now notcing Terezi was gone.

* * *

Nepeta glared at Karkat and opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it and ran off to find Tavros. She knew he was probably going to be more than a little upset.

"Hey Nep." He said when he spotted her, but the look on her face made his smile fall. "What's wrong?"

"Eridan and Gamzee are all snuggled up in the fish holding hands, that's what." She said bitterly. Tavros' eyes widened for a moment, but then he just smiled, his eyes going back to the bunny in his lap.

"It's for the best right...I mean, they seem to like each other." Nepeta gave him a sad look, but didn't say anything. Tavros called the clerk over to put the rabbit back into it's cage.

"You should buy one. It'll make you feel better." Nepeta murmured, but Tavros shook his head.

"It's okay. I'm okay." He said quietly, and Nepeta didn't believe him at all.

* * *

Eridan returned the smile, and for once it wasn't lecherous or perverted.  
It was genuine and appreciative. Gamzee didn't call him weird or think he was crazy for saying he could just stand and stare at fish. He just accepted it and agreed. Eridan liked that. He liked not having to pretend so much in front of someone.

"I've got a Black Moor Goldfish, see that little fat one. He looks like him. His name is Poseidon." Eridan said laughing a little and pointing out a cute little fat goldfish in one of the tanks. He'd had him for about two years now, and proceeded to tell Gamzee about his large tank, built into the headboard behind his bed and decorated with live plants and other various knick-knacks such as a pirate ship.

* * *

Equius sighed, shaking his head. He was disappointed in Karkat's immature behavior. To retort, the mature adult stuck his tongue out, in a childish manner. But once he decided to act his age, tongue BACK in his mouth, he replied.  
"It really is fucking fun to watch."  
"You could act more kindly though." Equius retorted. Him and Kanaya both had tones of voices that were able to guilt you as badly as mother would do to her child after he stole a cookie from a jar. The small teenager rolled his eyes, actually slightly regretting what'd he said to Nepeta.

* * *

Terezi heard Nepeta and Tavros speaking together, and after knocking over several things of dog food, she was happy to have eyes better than hers, and not having to use her cane she would purposely hit things with, tipping them over.  
"What's going on?" She asked, her face did turn from her usual grin to a face of worry,by the things she had caught, this didn't seem to be okay. "Why are you okay? Does that secretly mean you're not okay?"

Gamzee listened to Eridan, but was actually more concentrated on the fact they were holding hands. He did give a fair share amount of input, but.. He still didn't know if he was completely content with this though. Oh, what the fuck, it was holding hands, it wouldn't hurt anybody, right?

When Eridan finished, Gamzee seemed pretty amazed. "Woah, brother, s'like.. Another whole world for the little motherfucker." He grinned brightly, but turned around slightly, seeing that the others were all together. "Maybe we should go join them." Gamzee pointed his thumb back in that direction, before going to where everyone else stood, seeing what the plans were, and if they were leaving yet. Not.. That he wanted to split.. But... He looked at Tavros for a moment, giving a comforting smile for a moment, before paying attention to the conversation, the previous one had seemed to cease when he arrived.

* * *

Tavros met Gamzee's eyes, the bowling ball in his stomach doubling in weight as he searched those green orbs briefly for the comfort that he usually found reflected in them.

Not this time though.

Even though Gamzee was smiling at him, Tavros just tore his eyes away and focused on his lap. To anyone else, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world, but this was. Eridan was really good looking, and actually kind of popular at school (probably partly because of his money). He could...go places with Gamzee. He wasn't restricted to a chair. Eridan didn't need to be carried up stairs, or waited on. Eridan was a boyfriend...Tavros was a burden.

Tav balled his fists up, willing the dark cloud surrounding him to disappear long enough to put a happy face on for his friends.

"I'm getting kind of tired. Maybe we should, uh, call it a day, huh guys?" He said, as brightly as his voice could manage. Nepeta shot Gamzee and Eridan a glare before moving to grab the back of Tav's chair.

"I think so too. I'm pretty tired." She said stiffly. She turned on her heel with a small_ hmph_and began marching toward the mall entrance, not really giving anyone else a say in the matter.

Eridan merely grinned, turning to Gamzee.

"Sounds good to me. Still comin' over?" His darker green eyes meeting Gamzee's lighter ones and a small blush playing on his cheeks.

* * *

Gamzee's smile dropped instantly, now, the clown wasn't smart, but he could tell when a brother was upset, and.. It would become a mutual feeling. He started to speak, and try to reassure the boy in a wheelchair, but found himself cut short from Tavros calling it a day. "Are you sur-" An angry glare from Nepeta, who sealed it. Everyones' fun date was over..

But why exactly was Tavros so dejected? So cheerless... It was a shame to see. He had seemed a little up when he had the cute rabbit in his hands, and well.. It seemed his good mood fizzled out, despite the so-fake-it's-barbie voice he did, feigning joy, it was obvious he wasn't. 'DaMmIt...' Gamzee thought, sighing, he put up another smile. He'd inquire further about it when he got home.

* * *

Equius crossed his arms, his glasses covering the annoyance that his eyes would have shown, as his mouth did not twitch any emotion in the least. "Nepeta," He started, as calmly as he could, she didn't hear him, or chose to ignore him as she turned around with Tavros, and begun leaving. "**Nepeta.**" He said firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. "That was incredibly rude of you, and you know it." Equius pulled back his hand. "I'm very disappointed with how you acted, I'm sure the two had reasoning for their foolish manners."

"Heh, oh GODDD, I can't take this, I'm leaving." Karkat couldn't help but stifle a small smirk, grabbing on to Terezis hand. She merely rolled her eyes. "I think you upset him, _-best friend-_."  
Gamzee furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "But, seriously, how the motherfuck did I do that?" He questioned, mostly to himself, rather the smaller boy.  
"You do have shit for a brain. I'll pester you about it... Or in fact, annoy Nepeta. She'll tell you, jesus she'd love to yell at you now.." He vented slightly as he turned around, leaving with Terezi, whom had waved goodbye at the two. Gamzee, confused, and mildly upset, moved one arm around Eridans shoulders, pulling him in for a half hug, and listening to his question. "Uh, but yeah, Eribro, sounds motherfucking miraculous." He shoved up another dorky grin.

* * *

**~*~ See you all soon. ~*~  
**


	9. Importance

God, guys. I really love you all.  
Can I possibly just come and snuggle you? No? Just let me grab my PB&J plushies thennnn- Okay.  
I'm good.  
**ANYWAYS THIS IS ACTUALLY IMPORTANT.  
**I love Tease, the girl I roleplay this with, I _really_ do. She's one of my favorite people online! GODDAMN, she's AMAZING! BUT...  
Unlike me, she has a life, and I think it's been long enough, to where I'm looking for your input, should I just rewrite this all as a fanfiction, or keep it up as an RP and you guys can wait ((Possibly read my other stuff)) for awhile.  
I will do this for you guys, but, please don't review your answer, if you could PM it to me, that would be much more appreciated. 3 BUT BUT BUT- If you don't want to take the time to PM it to me, go ahead and review. I will probably begin writing it on Christmas if you guys decide on the fanfiction. (Dec. 25)  
In the meantime, you could read my other multi-chap_ Perfect Two_. Also, I will begin writing one-shots because why not.  
Have a nice day, and thank you,  
Signed, Indigo.


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